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

Officials could not previously prosecute Garcia Moran for assault and battery due to uncooperative witnesses who feared coming to court, citing the presence of immigration enforcement agents lurking around Virginia courthouses. —Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 19 Apr. 2026

The victim was uncooperative in providing details to responding officers. —Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 19 Apr. 2026

Often times the hunter thinks the birds were henned-up and uncooperative. —Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 16 Apr. 2026

Shane and the other three officers, in their reports, described Curry as being uncooperative and declining to submit to a standard field sobriety test, but instead telling them to put him in handcuffs. —Deborah Laverty, Chicago Tribune, 4 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1799, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for uncooperative

• inoperative
• operative