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
They said weeks of messages to Polymarket customer support went unanswered, though a Polymarket employee wrote on Discord in July that the engineering team was working on fixes to user issues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 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
Another unanswered question is whether chocolate has something special about it or whether other familiar foods could produce similar effects.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
Questions about Grandpa Sweetwine—he left when Grandma was pregnant with Dad and never came back—go unanswered like they did when she was alive.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
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.
