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.
Like all tragedies, Cuba’s is haunted by unanswered questions, fatal mistakes and sliding-doors alternative possibilities.
From Salon • May 24, 2026
When the BBC attempted to contact the company, calls to a number linked to the firm went unanswered, while an email address provided for the company bounced back.
From BBC • May 23, 2026
The big bang theory may have triumphed among most cosmologists, but the persistence of unanswered questions—what came before that explosive moment? could our universe be one of many?—leaves plenty of room for speculation and dissent.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
Despite decades of research, many questions about where they come from and how they are accelerated remain unanswered.
From Science Daily • May 14, 2026
That conclusion, however, still leaves a number of critical questions unanswered.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
