unresponsive

Unresponsive is an adjective meaning not responding or reacting to stimuli. It can describe a person, a device, or a situation in which there is no observable reaction.

Medical usage: In clinical contexts, an unresponsive patient lacks responsiveness to external stimuli, which may indicate altered consciousness, coma, or critical illness. Assessment uses scales such as AVPU or the Glasgow Coma Scale. Distinctions exist between unconsciousness, coma, stupor, and general unresponsiveness.

Emergency management: When a person is found unresponsive, assess safety, call emergency services, check breathing, provide CPR if trained, and use an automated external defibrillator if available.

Technology usage: In computing, unresponsive describes software or hardware that does not respond to input or requests. Causes include processor overload, deadlock, memory exhaustion, or software crashes. Troubleshooting includes verifying power, checking for frozen interfaces, monitoring resource usage, reviewing logs, restarting services, and applying updates.

Communication and design: In communication, someone may be unresponsive if they do not reply to messages or engage with others. In user interface design, unresponsive elements degrade user experience; remedies include providing status feedback, progress indicators, timeouts, and graceful error handling.

In research or signal processing, unresponsiveness can refer to a lack of reaction to a stimulus or test, which may require methodological controls or further evaluation.