What does uncontrollable mean?
Uncontrollable is an adjective describing something that cannot be controlled, restrained, or regulated with reasonable effort. It may describe a physical force or event, such as a fire or storm, but it is also commonly used for emotions and behaviour: a person may have uncontrollable laughter, anger, or an irresistible urge to speak. The word can describe either a genuinely independent phenomenon or a person’s inability to restrain a reaction. In everyday use, it suggests a loss of effective control rather than a deliberate refusal to cooperate. Its close relatives in English include controllable, its direct opposite, and uncontrollably, an adverb used for actions that cannot be stopped or directed. The word is useful because it names a boundary condition in which authority or restraint may be intended, but practical power over the situation has been lost.
adjectiveImpossible or extremely difficult to control, restrain, or regulate; beyond effective management.
- Unable to be controlled, restrained, or regulated.
- Unable to be managed or stopped because it is too powerful, intense, or disruptive.
"The wildfire advanced with an uncontrollable force that threatened nearby communities."
"She burst into uncontrollable laughter as soon as she saw the message."
"Once the argument began, the discussion became uncontrollable."
Add “un-” to control and a promise of authority becomes a confession that it has failed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does uncontrollable come from?
Uncontrollable was formed in English by attaching the negative prefix un- to control or controllable. Control entered Middle English from Anglo-French controle, ultimately from Medieval Latin contrōlō, meaning “to oversee,” a word associated with contra- and rotulus, “wheel” or “roll,” in the practice of checking a ship’s roll. The resulting English family includes control, controllable, controller, and the negative forms uncontrollable, uncontrollably, and uncontrollability.
Related word forms
How uncontrollable is actually used
The word is commonly used with emotions, behaviour, forces, events, and situations. It is generally more serious than saying that something is merely difficult to control, and it usually has a neutral-to-negative connotation.
Easily confused with uncontrollable
Uncontrolled may mean that something is temporarily not being controlled or has deliberately been left unchecked, whereas uncontrollable means that effective control or restraint is not possible.