Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

uncooperative

play
adjective un·co·op·er·at·ive \ ˌən-kō-ˈä-p(ə-)rə-tiv , -ˈä-pə-ˌrā- \

Definition of uncooperative

: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

See uncooperative defined for English-language learners

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

alt-59c94ad823f29
'Meat Sweats': The Competitive Eater's Worst Nightmare
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
young-plant-shoots
Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!
alt-59c448f88ea38
Trending: Kim Jong Un: Trump a 'Dotard'

First Known Use of uncooperative

1799

UNCOOPERATIVE Defined for Kids

uncooperative

adjective un·co·op·er·a·tive \ ˌən-kō-ˈä-pə-rə-tiv \

Definition of uncooperative for Students

:not showing a desire to act or work with others in a helpful way

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up uncooperative? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

anathematize

play

to curse or denounce

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. dotage, dotard a state or period of senile decay

  2. otherwise "in other respects"

  3. federalism Graham says bill gives power to states

  4. bodega "Don’t mess with the beloved bodega."

  5. carceral Of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

uncooperative

Test Your Vocabulary

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

  • young-plant-shoots
  • Which of the following is a new sense of the word bunny?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Citation

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59c94ad823f29
'Meat Sweats': The Competitive Eater's Worst Nightmare

They're real, but is meat the cause?

alt-59c919f342079
'Diffuse' vs. 'Defuse'

Let us defuse the situation.

alt-59c52d6ee2f72
Breathing Life Into 'Inspire'

The word's origins are quite literal

alt-59c4207ecf106
Let's Talk 'Tea'

Spill it, sip it: just make it hot.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

young-plant-shoots
Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

You're going to have to memorize the dictionary again.

Take the quiz
stylized-drawing-of-woman-pole-vaulting-across-gap-to-get-trophy
Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

No tricks, just difficult words.

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Citation
Citation

Do you know the person or title these quotes describe?

Play the game