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ungovernable

ungovernable

4 8.6
Very difficult to control, for example a crowd or class
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈɡɜrnəbl/
translation icon : ingobernable
  • On top of all the problems the country faces, it's practically ungovernable because of serious systemic flaws.
  • make a country ungovernable
  • become ungovernable
  • the ungovernable nature

So take back MIT, become ungovernable, become ungovernable.

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Examples

  • If the people of the North were ungovernable, he could not govern them.

  • The once peaceful town is now considered ungovernable due to the rise in violence and disorder.

  • THE PROBLEM: California is considered ungovernable because the complicated system leaves no one in charge.

    Blog text (15)
  • We may have simply become ungovernable as a result of becoming too big and too diverse.

    Blog text (5)
  • They say they want to make the country ungovernable.

  • Mexico could become ungovernable if the popular vote were split into thirds—a result foreshadowed by several polls.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Mandela told her to instruct Oliver Tambo to escalate the armed struggle, said they must make the country ungovernable.

  • Without strong leadership, the committee became increasingly ungovernable and failed to reach any decisions.

  • The unplanned protests have made the city feel ungovernable for the authorities.

Synonyms

uncontrollable
vsungovernable
47 4.9

Not able to be held back

emphasizes inability to be ruled rather than general management
unruly
vsungovernable
41 4.3

Difficult to control and messy or noisy

refers to being impossible to rule in general, not only noisy behaviour
uncontrolled
vsungovernable
31 3.9

Not kept within limits, like a fire or a strong feeling

implies inability to be ruled rather than simply an unregulated state
unmanageable
vsungovernable
12 6.2

Hard to control or deal with

refers to inability to be ruled rather than practical handling problems
uncontainable
vsungovernable
2 6.5

Too strong to control, it often makes people laugh loudly or feel great joy

focuses on being impossible to rule rather than only containment
indocile
vsungovernable
1 9.9

Hard to control or train and does not obey people in charge

focuses on being impossible to rule broadly rather than only showing resistance
uncheckable
vsungovernable
8.5

Impossible to control or stop

highlights lack of ability to be ruled rather than ability to be inspected
noncontrollable
vsungovernable
7.5

No one can change or affect something like the weather

is more about being impossible to rule rather than merely hard to influence
unmaneuverable
vsungovernable
  • US
8.4

Hard to control or change

is about being impossible to rule more generally rather than only within systems

Antonyms

57 3.2

Easy to deal with

1 6.1

Easy to control or manage

How Governable

obedient
45 1.0
governable
1 6.1
manageable
57 3.2
difficult
386 2.1
unruly
41 4.3
ungovernable
4 8.6
anarchic
5 7.4

Surface Forms

ungovernable positive

Morphology

ungovernable = governable (transparent) = un + govern + able

The word is formed by adding the negative prefix 'un-' to 'governable', yielding the clear meaning 'not capable of being governed'.

Etymology

The word ungovernable breaks into un- 'not', govern 'to control', and -able 'able to', and it shares the same root as governor and government. So it means 'not able to be controlled', which is why we use it for people, groups, or things that are impossible to manage.