unresponsive

adjective

un·​re·​spon·​sive ˌən-ri-ˈspän(t)-siv 

: not responsive

The patient was unresponsive.

an infection unresponsive to antibiotics

an unresponsive bureaucracy

Although they are able to locate their own food at two weeks of age, fledgling robins will still piteously beg handouts from their increasingly unresponsive father.

—Millard H. Sharp

unresponsively adverb

staring unresponsively

unresponsiveness noun

Examples of unresponsive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Police arrested a suspect Friday in the killing of 31-year-old Frezja Matisse Baker, who was found unresponsive Thursday in a car in west Charlotte. —Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 13 Dec. 2025

The teen was unresponsive and died a short time later in the emergency room at Texas Health Huguley Hospital, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. —Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Dec. 2025

Two days after his symptoms appeared, he was found unresponsive at home. —Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 11 Dec. 2025

Investigators have found no criminality in the death of a 32-year-old man who was found unresponsive after riding a roller coaster at Universal's Epic Universe theme park in Florida in September, authorities announced on Thursday. —Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 11 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unresponsive

• nonresponsive
• responsive

Medical Definition

unresponsive

adjective

un·​re·​spon·​sive ˌən-ri-ˈspän(t)-siv 

: not responsive (as to a stimulus or treatment)

an unresponsive ulcer

unresponsiveness noun