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

When Anderson went to the vet to pick her up, doctors found the cat was unresponsive. —Ryan Brennan march 4, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2026

When Anderson went to the vet to pick up Chai, doctors went to grab the cat — and Chai was unresponsive. —Ryan Brennan march 4, Charlotte Observer, 4 Mar. 2026

When Anderson went to the vet to pick up Chai, doctors found the cat was unresponsive. —Ryan Brennan march 4, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2026

His sit-down with Mandel comes some three months after he was recorded slumped over and unresponsive in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. —Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 4 Mar. 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