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

The bicyclist, 26-year-old Hannah Rapp, was found lying in the roadway and unresponsive after being struck by a vehicle, according to a probable cause statement. — Mirna Alsharif, NBC news, 19 July 2026

The charge stems from the April 1 death of Aithana Rodriguez Arriaga, who became unresponsive after undergoing a frenectomy or tongue-tie procedure, at Cuddle Kids Dental Care in Fort Worth. — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 17 July 2026

While Dixon fled the parking lot in a car registered to his wife, Francis was found unresponsive at the scene and later pronounced dead at a local hospital. — Eleanor Jacobs, PEOPLE, 17 July 2026

Vander Meer had reportedly been seen awake and sitting up in his cell about half an hour before he was found unresponsive. — Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 16 July 2026

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