Nonresponsive

Nonresponsive describes a lack of reaction or willingness to respond to stimuli, communication, or treatment. This can apply to various contexts, including medical (a patient failing to react to medication), interpersonal (someone ignoring your emails), or technological (a program freezing up). The term implies a lack of active engagement or participation, indicating a state of passivity or indifference. It suggests a failure to provide an expected or appropriate response, be it physical, emotional, or behavioral. The degree of nonresponsiveness can vary, ranging from mild apathy to complete unresponsiveness.

Nonresponsive meaning with examples

• After the accident, the patient was nonresponsive to questions, raising serious concerns about a potential brain injury. The medical team worked tirelessly, monitoring vital signs, and running further tests. They hoped for a shift in the patients consciousness, but were prepared to continue their course of care until a reaction appeared, or they needed to change the treatment plan.
• Despite numerous attempts to contact her, Sarah remained nonresponsive to emails and phone calls, causing her colleagues to worry about her well-being. A mandatory check-up by security was then deployed, which was the last resort to getting a response. The reason, it turned out, was she had moved away and didn't want to be found. The team then went back to square one.
• The application was nonresponsive for several minutes after the user clicked 'save', causing frustration among employees. The IT department was quick to respond with a software patch, and a follow up test. It seemed that the problem was caused by memory leaks. After the update, the issue was permanently solved, thankfully, or there would be another software fix to deploy.
• The government's nonresponsive attitude toward the public's demands fueled widespread protests and dissatisfaction. They responded in turn to the requests, however not to the liking of the people. Many felt that the only way to fix this, was to get involved to change policy, to make sure the politicians and their staff were held accountable, and do what they said they were going to do.