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

Valentine was found unresponsive near the rocky coastline at the south end of Sand Dollar Beach, according to the news release. — Joan Lynch, Sacbee.com, 15 Oct. 2026

The first was in 2006, in which a 45-year-old man became unresponsive on the ride. — Dan Raby, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026

Paramedics told emergency dispatchers that the man was shot in the chest and was unresponsive. — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2026

Newly obtained 911 audio is shedding light on the frantic response when Hayden Panettiere was found unresponsive in a Greenville, South Carolina, apartment in August. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 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