unresponsive.

Not reacting or responding to a stimulus, request or attempt at contact in the relevant way.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• unresponsive patient
• unresponsive system

On the page

The unresponsive patient’s condition was assessed rather than inferred from one unanswered question.

The system remained unresponsive while its status indicators continued to change.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror / sci-fi / gothic. Forms: Comparative more unresponsive; superlative most unresponsive where gradation is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: hazard description, speculative setting, bodily condition, scene explanation. Disciplines: genre writing, science-informed description, clinical and safety vocabulary. Commonness: moderately common.