uncooperative

adjective

un·​co·​op·​er·​at·​ive ˌən-kō-ˈä-p(ə-)rə-tiv 

-ˈä-pə-ˌrā-

: marked by an unwillingness or inability to work with others : not cooperative

The suspect was uncooperative with investigators.

an uncooperative witness

… he wonders whether it would be such a bad thing if their uncooperative nanny quit …

—Caitlin Flanagan

also : providing difficulty

struggled with an uncooperative corkscrew

uncooperative weather

Examples of uncooperative in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Officers found the boy and the truck in the 900 block of Norton Street, police said, adding that he was intoxicated and uncooperative. —Jason Green, Mercury News, 28 May 2026

The victims were uncooperative about specifics. —Adam Harrington, CBS News, 24 May 2026

The best success comes using it in jungle-thick cover, worming a minnow down between uncooperative branches. —John Phillips, Outdoor Life, 14 May 2026

Potter was uncooperative following a request for a follow-up interview this year, according to the search warrant application. —Mark Guarino, ABC News, 13 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1799, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for uncooperative

• inoperative
• postoperative
• preoperative
• operative
• perioperative