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unresponsive
/ ˌʌnrɪˈspɒnsɪv /
adjective
- not reacting or responding to an action, question, suggestion, etc
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Example Sentences
On top, an unresponsive website on mobile devices is missing out on valuable opportunities to attract customers and make them convert.
The country’s National Informatics Center has been unresponsive or unhelpful with inquiries, which has led to ongoing confusion over who developed Aarogya Setu.
Powerful critics worked backstage to sideline an agency that they saw as unresponsive and ineffective.
Close a frozen programBringing an unresponsive program back to life on a laptop isn’t as simple as, say, swiping up to force it closed.
For seven hours after the nurse left, Ferdinand’s family cared for him as he lay dying, sweating profusely, struggling to breathe and unresponsive.
During one session, detainee Abu Zubaydah became “completely unresponsive with bubbles rising through his open full mouth.”
“The punches and kicks eventually knocked me unconscious and left me completely unresponsive,” Singh explained.
A third girl, 18-year-old Natasha Weigel, lay face-up across the back seat, also breathing, but also unresponsive.
The automaker was supposed to get rid of its unresponsive culture in exchange for taxpayer salvation.
But this time he was unresponsive and the doctors said he needed emergency surgery.
He stooped over her hand, and slobbered kisses upon her unresponsive glove.
Two expressionless faces, two pairs of unresponsive eyes, met his merry glance.
Marie answered him whenever his monologue required answer, but she was unresponsive, uninterested—bored.
He dropped the reins and caught her hand, and she made no resistance, although her touch was unresponsive.
What sort of love would that be that we had to try to bring into being—to force upon an unresponsive heart?
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Related Words
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More About Unresponsive
What does unresponsive mean?
Unresponsive means not reacting or responding to communication or something that usually calls for a reaction or a reply.
If someone you work with is not returning your emails, you might describe them as unresponsive. You could also use the word to describe a friend who never (or only rarely) returns your texts. A suspect who keeps quiet while being questioned by the police could also be described as unresponsive.
Unresponsive is also sometimes used in a medical context to describe a patient who is unconscious or otherwise unable to respond, such as due to being severely intoxicated.
The opposite of both senses of unresponsive is responsive, which can be used to describe people who are good at getting back to you or to a patient who is alert and able to communicate.
Example: I’ve been trying to get our other group member to contribute, but so far he’s been completely unresponsive and hasn’t returned any of my calls or texts.
Where does unresponsive come from?
The first records of the word responsive come from around 1400. Unresponsive is first recorded later, around the 1600s, and is simply formed by adding the prefix un-, meaning “not.”
When it’s used to describe people who don’t return your calls, emails, or texts, unresponsive might not necessarily mean that they never get back to you—though sometimes it does. Someone who’s unresponsive in this way is usually slow to respond, or only responds sometimes, or responds without actually answering your question.
In a medical context, saying that a patient is unresponsive often indicates that their condition is serious or that they’ve been injured in some way that prevents them from communicating.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms of unresponsive?
- unresponsively (adverb)
- unresponsiveness (noun)
What are some words that share a root or word element with unresponsive?
What are some words that often get used in discussing unresponsive?
How is unresponsive used in real life?
When it’s used to describe a person who doesn’t get back to you, unresponsive implies a criticism of such a person. When it’s used in a medical context, it often implies a serious condition.
I just sent an email to those unresponsive coworkers, except this time I cc'ed their boss. OOPS. Bet they'll get back to me now.
— Emily C (@YoBooMaFoo) April 1, 2009
This is 100% accurate. Many of us inside of the State Department tried to help our colleagues in Ukraine, Georgia and elsewhere. Facebook was simply unresponsive. https://t.co/rssbI6OFPD
— Moira Whelan (@moira) October 10, 2017
One of the challenges #paramedics encounter w/unresponsive patients is finding their medical history. If no one is around to share info, here are a few ways we find out:
🔎 Medical ID bracelet/necklace
🔎 Medical ID card
🔎 Programmed info in their phone 📱 pic.twitter.com/nwyUwJRZ64
— Thanh Nguyen (@PIOthanhn) June 28, 2019
Try using unresponsive!
Which of the following words would most likely be used to describe a patient who’s unresponsive?
A. alert
B. unconscious
C. aware
D. communicating
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