to run riot
2
5.8
- phrasal verb
- /rʌn ˈraɪət/
:
descontrolarse
- When the festival started, the crowd began to run riot with excitement.
- let my imagination run riot
- let your imagination run riot
It's like the police just let me run riot for six months.
- It's like the police just let me run riot for six months.
- Rogue hippos running riot in rural Colombia.
- It's when they're not observed that they run riot.
Examples
-
People are letting their imaginations run riot.
Blog text (11) -
Ray, don't let your imagination run riot.
-
It's like the police just let me run riot for six months.
-
I wanted to believe that you had a son, so I let my imagination run riot.
-
We cannot arrest him openly, or his supporters will run riot.
-
My imagination ran riot.
Fiction book (2001) -
Rogue hippos running riot in rural Colombia.
-
Before you finally decide to go ahead, find a couple who already have children and berate them about their methods of discipline, their lack of patience, their appallingly low tolerance levels, and the way they have allowed their children to run riot.
Blog text (14) -
Once the present crazy system of exploitation crumbles, and it is crumbling hourly, the powers of the imagination, heretofore stifled and fettered, will run riot.
Blog text (28) -
The children will run riot if you don't give them some structure.
Synonyms
33
3.9
Act without control or limits
27
7.7
To become very angry and act out of control
26
4.9
To join a violent crowd and damage property or fight police
20
7.5
To act wildly and cause chaos
15
5.7
To spread quickly, get out of control, and cause harm
2
9.9
To become very angry and act in a wild, out of control way
1
7.5
To act violently and destroy things without control
1
7.9
A crowd suddenly becomes violent and starts to damage property
1
9.6
To get very excited and act loudly
To act crazy and out of control for fun or excitement
Antonyms
How Wild
Surface Forms
Morphology
run + riot
The components 'run' (move quickly) and 'riot' (noisy disorder/revelry) together suggest uncontrolled or disorderly behaviour, so a learner who knows both words can likely infer the general meaning. However, the collocation 'run riot' is a conventionalized, somewhat metaphorical idiom whose exact usage and nuance are not fully predictable from the parts alone, so it is best classed as partially transparent.
Etymology
Run riot comes from a clear picture: imagine weeds that run across a garden or a crowd that moves everywhere and makes a riot. So, Run riot now means 'to behave in a wild or uncontrolled way'.