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
Millard H. Sharp
unresponsively
adverb
staring unresponsively
unresponsiveness
noun
Examples of unresponsive in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On Monday, Figueroa was found unresponsive in the street in the South Austin neighborhood near Loretto Hospital.
—Shardaa Gray, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
The Stamp Act protests, the Boston Tea Party and the Committees of Correspondence embodied organized civic resistance that fueled the American Revolution, born of protest against unresponsive governance.
—Karl W. Bickel, Baltimore Sun, 24 Feb. 2026
Arriving officers located an unresponsive male gunshot victim, Boisvert said.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 24 Feb. 2026
Trotsky briefly became unresponsive as Natalia frantically tried to work out what had transpired.
—Josh Ireland, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unresponsive
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Shardaa Gray, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
The Stamp Act protests, the Boston Tea Party and the Committees of Correspondence embodied organized civic resistance that fueled the American Revolution, born of protest against unresponsive governance.
—Karl W. Bickel, Baltimore Sun, 24 Feb. 2026
Arriving officers located an unresponsive male gunshot victim, Boisvert said.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 24 Feb. 2026
Trotsky briefly became unresponsive as Natalia frantically tried to work out what had transpired.
—Josh Ireland, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unresponsive
Cite this Entry
“Unresponsive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unresponsive. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical 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
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