Meaning & use
uncommunicative
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivenot comparable
not willing to talk or give information; tending to stay silent
Grammar: Describes a person or their manner. Not usually used with 'very' in formal writing, but 'very uncommunicative' is common in speech.
Patterns
- be uncommunicative about something
- an uncommunicative person
After the argument, he was uncommunicative for days.
She is uncommunicative about her personal life.
The witness remained uncommunicative during questioning.
Common combinations
- remain uncommunicative
- The suspect remained uncommunicative throughout the interview.
- uncommunicative about
- He is uncommunicative about his plans.
- an uncommunicative teenager
- Their son has become an uncommunicative teenager.
- seem uncommunicative
- She seemed uncommunicative at first, but she warmed up later.
Synonyms and how they differ
- silent
- Focuses on not speaking at a particular moment; uncommunicative suggests a regular unwillingness to share.
- reserved
- More neutral and often approving: reserved people are quiet by nature but not necessarily unwilling to talk.
- withdrawn
- Suggests pulling away from others, often because of unhappiness; uncommunicative simply means not talking much.
Opposites
Word family
- communicate verb
- To share information, thoughts, or feelings.
- communication noun
- The act of sharing information or feelings.
- communicative adjective
- Willing to talk and share information.
Commonly confused: uncommunicative or uncommunicative vs. incommunicative?
uncommunicative vs uncommunicative vs. incommunicative
'Uncommunicative' is the common word for a person who does not talk much. 'Incommunicative' is very rare and means almost the same, but most learners should use 'uncommunicative'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'uncommunicative' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Uncommunicative' is an adjective describing a person who does not share information, so it fits sentence 1. Option 0 describes a thing, not a person; option 2 uses it as a verb; option 3 uses it as a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “uncommunicative”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.