unresponsive

adjective

un·​re·​spon·​sive ˌən-ri-ˈspän(t)-siv How to pronounce unresponsive (audio)
: not responsive
The patient was unresponsive.
an infection unresponsive to antibiotics
an unresponsive bureaucracy
Although they are able to locate their own food at two weeks of age, fledgling robins will still piteously beg handouts from their increasingly unresponsive father.Millard H. Sharp
unresponsively adverb
staring unresponsively
unresponsiveness noun

Examples of unresponsive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web State police found the infant on March 11 lying unresponsive in the street, McClatchy News previously reported. Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 26 June 2024 His candidacy reflected a sense of a rejection of both Republicans and Democrats as being out of touch, unresponsive, and only taking care of other élites in business or in different lobbies. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 18 June 2024 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that bystanders not wait more than a few minutes for a driver to return to the car and to first assess if the child is responsive or unresponsive. Jade Jackson, The Indianapolis Star, 18 June 2024 Responding officers found the 27-year-old woman unconscious and unresponsive, with trauma to her body, lying face-up on the kitchen floor of the Minna St. residence near Martense Ln. Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 15 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for unresponsive 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unresponsive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unresponsive was in 1768

Dictionary Entries Near unresponsive

Cite this Entry

“Unresponsive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unresponsive. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.

Medical Definition

unresponsive

adjective
un·​re·​spon·​sive ˌən-ri-ˈspän(t)-siv How to pronounce unresponsive (audio)
: not responsive (as to a stimulus or treatment)
an unresponsive ulcer
unresponsiveness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on unresponsive

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