unprompted

adjective un·prompt·ed \ ˌən-ˈpräm(p)-təd \

Updated on: 7 May 2018

Definition of unprompted

: not prompted

an unprompted [=spontaneous] observation

… two NBA scouts, unprompted, recently described Clancy as "aggressive" …
—Austin Murphy

See unprompted defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of unprompted from the Web

Several students, apparently unprompted, suggest Birbalsingh.

— flora carr, Time, "What It's Like to Study at the Strictest School in Britain," 20 Apr. 2018
The seemingly unprompted remembrance from West comes just days after Kardashian, 33, gave birth to her daughter with Thompson.

— jordan runtagh, PEOPLE.com, "Kanye West Tweets About Lamar Odom Amid Sister-in-Law Khloé Kardashian's Tristan Thompson Drama," 16 Apr. 2018
Instead, with reporters in the Cabinet Room and cameras rolling, Trump opened the meeting with an unprompted four-minute critique of Mueller's investigation.

— zeke miller, chicagotribune.com, "Trump fumes at Mueller probe after raid on attorney," 13 Apr. 2018
Instead, with reporters in the room and cameras rolling, Trump opened the meeting with an unprompted four-minute critique of Mueller’s investigation.

— Time, "‘A Disgrace.’ Trump Reacts to FBI’s Raid on His Personal Lawyer Michael Cohen’s Office," 9 Apr. 2018
The band continued to play through their stage monitors, causing the crowd to rush the stage and join in an unprompted sing-along.

— jason lipshutz, Billboard, "Top 22 Coachella Performances Ever," 9 Apr. 2018
Adam Mosseri, Facebook’s head of news feed, in recent days wrote unprompted to a BuzzFeed editor and to its chief executive reminiscing and telling a story about his mother.

— sheera frenkel and nellie bowles, New York Times, "Facebook Employees in an Uproar Over Executive’s Leaked Memo," 30 Mar. 2018
Some Amazon Alexa users recently reported their devices began letting out super-creepy, unprompted laughs.

— lara o’reilly, WSJ, "CMO Today: More Drama for Newsweek’s IBTimes; Drawbridge Scales Back In Europe Ahead of GDPR; Soap Is the Latest Viral Trend," 8 Mar. 2018
Amazon Echo users are reporting that Alexa, the virtual personal assistant that comes with several devices in the Echo line, sometimes begins to break into an unprompted fit of laughter — occasionally doing so at inappropriate times.

— jonathan sperling, NBC News, "Amazon Echo users report spontaneous, childlike laughter coming from Alexa," 7 Mar. 2018

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

First Known Use of unprompted

1659

in the meaning defined above

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unprompted

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