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 went to Gauthier’s home after a neighbor reported seeing her through the bedroom window lying unresponsive on the floor, the release states. —Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 29 Nov. 2025

Christopher Brown, a 43-year-old from Silverthorne, Colorado, was found unresponsive with stab wounds and a metal object lodged in his back in Tobago, according to a local police report. —Mitch Picasso, FOXNews.com, 28 Nov. 2025

Eleven was able to resurrect her, but Max nevertheless remained unresponsive in a hospital bed by season's end. —Sezin Devi Koehler, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Nov. 2025

Nelson then walked over and stomped on the back of the victim’s neck and head as the victim remained unresponsive. —Kansas City Star, 25 Nov. 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