uncontrolled

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + controlled, the past participle of the verb control.^[2][3][4] The Shorter Oxford also records the old spelling “uncontroulled”.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not checked against the facts; untested: 1529, in Thomas More's Supplycacyon of Soulys.^[2] Etymonline dates the word to the 1510s, with the sense "not governed, free",^[3] and the Shorter Oxford to the early 16th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Thomas More used the word in three senses: "untested as to accuracy" (1529), "not called in question, undisputed" (before 1535) and "not subject to control, unrestrained" (before 1535).^[2] The first two died out by 1584 and 1731,^[2] while the last, first used predicatively and also before a noun since 1594, is the modern meaning.^[2] Etymonline describes the shift from "not governed, free" to "not yielding to restraint, uncontrollable".^[3]

Timeline

• 1529 – not checked by comparison with facts (obsolete by 1584).^[2]
• before 1535 – undisputed (obsolete by 1731); not subject to control, unrestrained.^[2]
• 1594 – unrestrained, used before a noun.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Not controlled or regulated; unrestrained or unchecked: uncontrolled spending, an uncontrolled fire.^[5][6][2][4]

Word family

• uncontrolledness

Related words

• control
• controller
• uncontrollable

References

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