unrestrained

/ˈʌnrəˌstreɪnd/

You know how your uncle Marvin is always screaming at the television when his game shows are on? That’s because he’s being unrestrained. Anyone exhibiting uncontrolled emotion is unrestrained, meaning they don’t hold back.

Unrestrained comes from the French restreinte, which means “hold back.” When something is restrained, that thing is confined in some way. Unrestrained means just the opposite. When you’re feeling unrestrained excitement, you might jump up and down, or call all your friends to tell them how you feel. The unrestrained crush you have on the guy in math class might lead you to cover your notebooks with his name written in bubble letters. It happens to the best of us.

Definitions of unrestrained

1. adjective

   not subject to restraint
   “unrestrained laughter”

   synonyms:

   uncontrolled

   not being under control; out of control

   free

   able to act at will; not hampered; not under compulsion or restraint

   uninhibited

   not inhibited or restrained

   unreserved

   not cautious or reticent

   excessive, extravagant, exuberant, overweening

   unrestrained, especially with regard to feelings

   freewheeling

   free of restraints or rules

   highflying

   extravagant or ambitious or extreme in aims or opinions

   incontinent, unbridled, unchecked, uncurbed, ungoverned, wanton

   not restrained or controlled

   unbuttoned, unlaced

   not under constraint in action or expression

   unhampered, unhindered

   not slowed or blocked or interfered with

   antonyms:

   restrained

   under restraint

   controlled

   restrained or managed or kept within certain bounds

   inhibited

   held back or restrained or prevented

   reserved

   marked by self-restraint and reticence

   close

   strictly confined or guarded

   low-key, low-keyed, subdued

   restrained in style or quality

   unexpansive

   not given to high spirits or effusiveness
2. adjective

   marked by uncontrolled excitement or emotion
   synonyms: delirious, excited, frantic, mad

   wild

   marked by extreme lack of restraint or control