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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Police responded to the area of Hana Highway at 12:43 p.m. local time on Saturday, Feb. 8, after receiving a report about an unresponsive male near mile marker 6.75, according to a news release from the Maui Police Department (MPD). Abigail Adams, People.com, 11 Feb. 2025 The Jacksonville Sherif’s Office said officers arrested the 28-year-old Cobb after finding 51-year-old Erika Winford unresponsive, wrapped in a blanket and towels in the backyard of a home on 15th Street West. Kels Dayton, Hartford Courant, 11 Feb. 2025 Lujan called 911 on Jan. 20 to report that her granddaughter was unresponsive at her two-story townhouse in Tempe near U.S. 60 and Mill Avenue, prosecutors said. Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 7 Feb. 2025 Officers found Whittington, 25, unresponsive in his cell the week prior. Gavin Off, Charlotte Observer, 5 Feb. 2025 See all Example Sentences for unresponsive 

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 22 Feb. 2025.

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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