Dictionary

ungovernable en · ADJ

Pronunciation

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Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English govern Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Italic *-ðlom Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English governable English ungovernable From un- + governable.

Meanings

1. Not governable; unable to be governed.
   • But “ungovernable” France is not alone in its bitter, intractable divisions. 2025 October 12, Simon Tisdall, “France is not alone in its crisis of political faith – belief in a democratic world is vanishing”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • The concern about ungovernability in the United States often takes the form of complaints about “single-issue” politics and the limited influence and discipline of American political parties. Thus our next question is, Why are some modern societies to some degree ungovernable? 1982, Mancur Olson, The Rise and Decline of Nations, Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 8:
   • While there is no mechanism to force a General Election, the internal wrangling within the Tory party may mean that ultimately the new PM will simply be so exhausted by the chaos that the country becomes ungovernable. 2022 November 2, Christian Wolmar, “Some early policy pointers, but we remain in a state of flux”, in RAIL, number 969, page 45:
2. Unable to be managed or controlled.
   • But now this visit of my soft warm hand in those so sensible parts had put every thing into such ungovernable fury that, disdaining all further preluding, and taking advantage of my commodious posture, he made the storm fall where I scarce patiently expected, and where he was sure to lay it 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:
   • a man with an ungovernable temper

Forms

Deriveds

ungovernably · ungovernableness · ungovernability

Translations (16)

es ingobernable (not governable) · fr ingouvernable (not governable) · nl onbestuurbaar (not governable) · pl nieposkromiony (not governable) · it ingovernabile (not governable) · ca ingovernable (not governable) · bg необуздан (not governable) · de unregierbar (not governable) · el μη κυβερνήσιμος (not governable) · fi hallitsematon (not governable) · grc ἀκάθεκτος (not governable) · grc ἄσχετος (not governable) · pl nierządny (not governable) · eo neregebla (not governable) · la irregibilis (not governable) · pt ingovernável (not governable)