irresponsiveadj.
/ˌɪrɪˈspɒnsɪv/ 1. Not responsive or answering; not responding to a force or stimulus, or to something which appeals to the emotions; giving no answer to a question or inquiry.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > answer > [adjective] > lacking an answer
answerless1533
responselessa1809
irresponsive1846
the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [adjective] > emotionally unaffected
dead1340
unsmittenc1400
unmovedc1480
unkindleda1525
senseless1560
lumpish1585
unfired1590
unaffectedc1595
incapable1601
unsensible1611
insensible1615
untouched1616
impervious1618
unanswering1632
untransported1641
beauty-proof1676
insensate1726
unsusceptible1734
uninfluenced1735
unimbued1813
unsmote1814
unsusceptive1825
unalive1828
echoless1869
non-conducting1871
unsusceptible1872
irresponsive1886
affectless1912
1846 J. E. Worcester Universal Dict. Eng. Lang. (citing Edinb. Rev.).
1866 J. H. Newman Let. to Pusey 11 I trust I am not ungrateful or irresponsive to you in this respect.
1874 W. B. Carpenter Princ. Mental Physiol. (1879) App. 714 The whole of the posterior lobe is similarly irresponsive.
1886 J. A. Symonds Catholic Reaction in Renaissance in Italy (1898) VII. xiii. 226 Works to which our forefathers were unintelligibly irresponsive.
2. = irresponsible adj. 1. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > undutifulness > [adjective] > irresponsible
irresponsal1637
irresponsible1649
irresponsive1884
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > [adjective] > not responsible or accountable
uncountablea1475
intaxable1631
unresponsal1633
irresponsal1637
accountless1649
irresponsible1649
unchargeable1649
unquestionable1649
unresponsible1653
unaccountable1677
irresponsive1884
unanswerable1884
1884 W. E. Gladstone Let. in H.Tennyson Alfred Ld. Tennyson: Mem. II. xvi. 306 Irresponsive power is a dangerous thing unless curbed by wisdom.
Derivatives
irreˈsponsiveness n. the quality or state of being irresponsive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [noun] > want of or incapacity for emotion
dryheada1300
lethargyc1380
drynessc1450
dumping1542
unsensibility1551
insensibleness?1555
unsensibleness?1555
stupidity1568
stolidity1570
stupor1570
dumpishness1574
senselessness1577
innaturality1579
astoniedness1580
impassibility1603
stupefaction1603
torpor1607
deadness1611
unsufferance1611
hebetude1621
nonsense1621
drought1622
hebetation1623
obstupefaction1625
unanswerableness1626
tastelessnessa1631
insensateness1646
impassiveness1648
obtuseness1648
barrenness1655
torpulency1657
sterility1661
spiritlessness1669
unspiritedness1669
unaffectedness1678
insensibility1691
stolidness1727
apathy1742
impenetrableness1747
unfeelingness1766
impassivity1794
unfeeling1805
soullessness1811
incommobility1822
obtusity1823
unimpressibleness1830
hardhead1836
stockishness1837
insensitiveness1838
impenetrability1847
unreceptivity1849
unsusceptibility1850
woodenness1854
unimpressionability1862
irresponsiveness1864
unresponsiveness1869
impassibleness1874
irreceptivity1881
unimpressibility1889
apatheia1893
inemotivity1894
affectlessness1921
insensitivity1957
1864 J. R. Lowell Fireside Trav. 282 A long period of sullen irresponsiveness.
1872 Spectator 5 Oct. 1263 Nothing can be more marvellously painted than the picture of her irresponsiveness to her husband's anxieties, fears, and hopes.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
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adj.1846