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.
The chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the MP Dame Emily Thornberry, said there were "still unanswered questions as to how someone so clearly unfit was appointed British Ambassador to the United States".
From BBC • Jul. 9, 2026
This came home during Covid when many people reached out to elected officials but their cries for help went unanswered.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 6, 2026
However, that explanation leaves an important question unanswered.
From Science Daily • Jun. 24, 2026
Letters from lawmakers have gone unanswered and required reports unfiled.
From Salon • Jun. 23, 2026
They go on and on, a series of unanswered messages that seize me with guilt, until I'm snapped out of it by the phone ringing in my hand.
From "We Are Okay" by Nina LaCour
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.
