rambunctious

adjective

ram·​bunc·​tious ram-ˈbəŋk-shəs 

: marked by uncontrollable exuberance : unruly

rambunctiously adverb

rambunctiousness noun

Did you know?

Rambunctious Has (Possible) British Origins

Rambunctious first appeared in print in the early half of the 19th century, at a time when the fast-growing United States was forging its identity and indulging in a fashion for colorful new coinages suggestive of the young nation's optimism and exuberance. Rip-roaring, scalawag, scrumptious, hornswoggle, and skedaddle are other examples of the lively language of that era. Did Americans alter the largely British rumbustious because it sounded, well, British? That could be. Rumbustious, which first appeared in Britain in the late 1700s just after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was probably based on robustious, a much older adjective that meant both "robust" and "boisterous."

Synonyms

• boisterous
• hell-raising
• knockabout
• raucous
• robustious
• roisterous
• rollicking
• rowdy
• rumbustious [chiefly British]

Examples of rambunctious in a Sentence

that beach is often taken over by packs of rambunctious young people, so don't go there expecting peace and quiet

Recent Examples on the Web

Pacino’s new memoir, Sonny Boy, is a 363-page attempt to make sense of all that, drawing a through-line from the rambunctious kid getting chased by cops across the South Bronx to the octogenarian Hollywood icon dancing down the streets of Beverly Hills. —Chris Stanton, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2024

Understanding the diets of these rambunctious cats may help prevent conflicts between the carnivores and people, and protect the species upon which dispersing cougars rely. —Ben Goldfarb, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024

Hundreds of the rambunctious mammals were showing off their affinity for acrobatics, somersaulting out of the water with infectious exuberance. —Brad Japhe, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2024

Rihanna could not be happier to be the mother of two rambunctious young boys. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 14 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably alteration of rumbustious

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

rambunctious

adjective

ram·​bunc·​tious ram-ˈbəŋ(k)-shəs 

: not under control : unruly, exuberant

rambunctiously adverb

rambunctiousness noun