unanswered
Britishadjective
Explanation
If something is unanswered, it gets no response, even when one is asked for or expected. So that unanswered text message? It hasn't gotten a reply. An unanswered phone call isn't answered but instead just rings and rings endlessly. An unanswered question hovers there without a response, like when your dad asks, "Who's responsible for this mess?" and none of your siblings says a thing. If you write dozens of letters to your favorite Hollywood star but don't get a reply, those are (sadly) unanswered too.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the second week of the college football season, in a clash of titans, the University of Texas scored 21 unanswered points to surge past Ohio State in the fourth quarter and win, 24-23.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
That ability to reset remains one of the major unanswered questions.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
The full agreement has not been released, leaving unanswered questions about the size of an expanded U.S. military presence and how much authority Washington would have over foreign investments.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Left unanswered is perhaps this question’s most unsettling implication: that we may not be able to know anybody at all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
I suddenly had a lot of unanswered questions going through my mind, but none of them mattered if Mr. Terupt didn’t make it through the surgery.
From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
