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

The movie, directed by David Gordon Green and written by Leland Douglas, follows Stiller as a Chicago real estate exec who must oversee his four wild, rambunctious nephews on their Ohio farm after their parents tragically die. —Natalie Sitek, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2024

Despite its rambunctious origins—co-founder Norman Mailer handled distribution for a time, delivering papers on Wednesday mornings—the Voice hadn’t found its voice. —Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 22 Aug. 2024

That chaos is calibrated for maximum audacity thanks to visual effects supervisor Dan Sturm’s prudently incorporated CGI, which doesn’t skimp on the wow factor and is further amped up by composer Cody Fry’s cacophonous, rambunctious score. —Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Sep. 2024

Shi Wei and his bride met in Zhili but come from nearby villages in remote Yunnan, so both bride and groom are surrounded by rambunctious friends letting off firecrackers and covering them with spray-on streamers. —Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 6 Sep. 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