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 text of the U.S.-Iran agreement has not yet been released, leaving many questions unanswered.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 16, 2026
A key unanswered question remains whether the loss of thrust originated during the take-off roll and continued through lift-off, or whether it developed only after the aircraft had become airborne.
From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026
As for whether a new deal would effectively amount to a return to the original 2015 agreement that president Barack Obama negotiated and Trump tore up during his first term, that question remains unanswered.
From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026
Yet one major question has remained unanswered for decades: How could gravastars actually form?
From Science Daily • Jun. 14, 2026
Nor, any more than a prayer unanswered by God, was it returned.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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.
