irresponsive

[ ir-i-spon-siv ]

/ ˌɪr ɪˈspɒn sɪv /

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adjective

not responsive; not responding, or not responding readily, as in speech, action, or feeling.

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Origin of irresponsive

First recorded in 1840–50; ir-² + responsive

OTHER WORDS FROM irresponsive

ir·re·spon·sive·ness, noun

Words nearby irresponsive

irresolution, irresolvable, irrespective, irrespirable, irresponsible, irresponsive, irretentive, irretraceable, irretrievable, irreverence, irreverent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use irresponsive in a sentence

He saw the hints plainly enough, but had evidently made up his mind to be doggedly irresponsive.
Over the Sliprails|Henry Lawson
"He told me this tale," Mrs. Sumfit continued, daring her irresponsive enemy to contradict her, with a threatening gaze.
Rhoda Fleming, Complete|George Meredith
Science too has been something of an irresponsive mistress since, though I've served her better than I served Marion.
Tono Bungay|H. G. Wells
Robert's eager soul meanwhile, for once irresponsive to Catherine's, was full of nothing but the Squire.
Robert Elsmere|Mrs. Humphry Ward

The nun turned upon him a pair of cold, steel-blue eyes, as calm and irresponsive as if he had brought her no tidings whatever.
A Forgotten Hero|Emily Sarah Holt

British Dictionary definitions for irresponsive

irresponsive

/ (ˌɪrɪˈspɒnsɪv) /

adjective

not responsive

Derived forms of irresponsive

irresponsively, adverbirresponsiveness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012