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uncontrollable

adjectiveB2+Common in everyday speech and writing · #8,007 of 15,258neutral

Uncontrollable means impossible to hold in check. Uncontrollable laughter, an uncontrollable urge, uncontrollable shaking.

It belongs to the body and the emotions more than to machines, since uncontrollable laughter and uncontrollable crying are both things that happen to a person rather than by them. Of a fire it means past any hope of containing.

Definitions of uncontrollable

  1. 1adjectiveuncontrollableImpossible to hold in check.B2+

    “She burst into uncontrollable tears when she heard the news.”

uncontrollable is a quality.

Where it comes from

From un- + controllable.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

uncontrollable in the wild

  • Going postal is an American English slang phrase referring to becoming extremely angry or uncontrollable, often to the point of violence, and usually in a workplace environment.

    Going postal

  • Sometimes, the episodes may switch between emotional states, resulting in uncontrollable crying followed by fits of laughter.

    Pseudobulbar affect

  • Drawing on the real story of a young woman caught up in the French Revolution, it explores the impact of uncontrollable events on ordinary people's lives.

    The Natural Daughter

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

  • uncontrollably