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 are investigating after a man suffering from serious facial injuries was found unresponsive at an assisted living facility in New London on Monday. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 8 July 2025

The actor, who was found unresponsive in his Malibu home on July 3, died from heart failure, with heart disease and alcoholism as contributing factors, a representative for Madsen confirmed to Fox News Digital. —Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 8 July 2025

Minutes later, at 8:37 p.m., medical staff were called to evaluate Adair who was found unresponsive. —Kansas City Star, 6 July 2025

The 4-year-old girl, identified in an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant as A.T., was found unresponsive in a pool at the home, but her lungs and stomach contained no water, prompting authorities to rule out drowning as the cause of death. —Tim Stelloh, NBC news, 4 July 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