uncooperative

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

|Updated on: 8 Jul 2018

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

Recent Examples of uncooperative from the Web

As accounts of the shooting and its aftermath arrived, one detail stood out: The suspect was uncooperative after apprehension, and the county police used facial-recognition technology to identify him.

— ian bogost, The Atlantic, "What the Capital Gazette Shooting Reveals About Face Recognition," 29 June 2018
Either the Argentine record buy didn't understand or was uncooperative and left Old Trafford as a massive flop after just one season.

— SI.com, "World Cup Countdown: 1 Day to Go - Tim Krul's Penalty Heroics & the Mad Genius of Louis van Gaal," 13 June 2018
Although Batista declined to say whether Johnson was being uncooperative.

— christopher carbone, Fox News, "Arizona officers on leave after video shows man being pummeled," 7 June 2018
Austin Hedges’ uncooperative right elbow brought Raffy Lopez, the owner of seven homers in 19 games at Triple-A El Paso, to San Diego.

— jeff sanders, sandiegouniontribune.com, "With Padres, Raffy Lopez continuing to catch on," 30 May 2018
The victim said he had been shot near East Euclid Street, but was uncooperative with the investigation, officials said.

— ruth bruno, courant.com, "One Man Hospitalized After Blue Hills Shooting," 16 June 2018
The case was rejected as a result of the victim consistently being uncooperative with our office and the arresting agency who initially investigated the incident.

— brian chasnoff, San Antonio Express-News, "DA dismissed charge against deputy," 12 June 2018
Ferrelli said Sunday those involved in the shooting had been uncooperative with police investigating the case.

— linda girardi, Aurora Beacon-News, "Apparent gang-related shooting leaves 7 injured in Aurora," 10 June 2018
The victim was uncooperative with police, declined to sign complaints or press charges, a spokeswoman for Chicago police said.

— amy lieu, Fox News, "Taco Bell manager stabs employee in dispute over woman, police say," 30 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'uncooperative.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.