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uncontrollable

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Etymology and origin of the English word uncontrollable

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1577 H. I., translation of Bullinger's Fifty Godly Sermons
Ultimate origins
English un-,controllable,-ableAnglo-Norman contreroller
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English control
English uncontrollable

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌʌnkənˈtrəʊləb(ə)l/, /ˌʌŋkənˈtrəʊləb(ə)l/[1]
  • US: /ˌʌnkənˈtroʊləb(ə)l/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English un- (“not”) + controllable.[2][3][4][5] Controllable is from English control + -able;[3][2] Etymonline dates it to about 1600, later than uncontrollable itself.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Incontrovertible, indisputable: 1577, in a translation of Bullinger's sermons,[2][4] a sense the OED last records in 1738.[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

From 1593, in Gabriel Harvey, it meant free from the control of a higher authority, absolute,[2][3] a sense Merriam-Webster labels archaic;[4] the Shorter Oxford quotes Maria Edgeworth's "She had an uncontroulable right".[5] The modern sense, that cannot be controlled or restrained, is recorded from 1648, in Ralph Josselin's diary.[2][3] It was also used almost as an adverb (before 1704)[2] and as a noun, from 1754 in Samuel Richardson's letters, for an uncontrollable person or factor.[2]

Timeline

  • 1577 – incontrovertible, indisputable (obsolete by 1738).[2][4]
  • 1593 – not subject to a higher authority; absolute.[2][3]
  • 1648 – that cannot be controlled or restrained.[2][3]
  • before 1704 – in quasi-adverbial use.[2]
  • 1754 – noun, an uncontrollable person or thing.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Impossible to control or restrain; unmanageable: She burst into uncontrollable laughter.[6][4][2]
  2. (archaic) Not subject to any higher authority; absolute.[4][2][5]
  3. (obsolete, 1577–1738) Indisputable, irrefutable.[4][2][5]

Noun

  1. A person or thing, especially a factor, that cannot be controlled or predicted.[2][5]

Word family

  • uncontrollability
  • uncontrollably

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Uncontrollable.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/uncontrollable. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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