insensate

American  

[in-sen-seyt, -sit] / ɪnˈsɛn seɪt, -sɪt /

adjective

1. not endowed with sensation; inanimate.

   insensate stone.

   Synonyms:

   inorganic, lifeless

2. without human feeling or sensitivity; cold; cruel; brutal.

   Synonyms:

   insensible

3. without sense, understanding, or judgment; foolish.

   Synonyms:

   dumb, witless, senseless, irrational, stupid

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insensate British  

/ -sɪt, ɪnˈsɛnseɪt /

adjective

1. lacking sensation or consciousness

2. insensitive; unfeeling

3. foolish; senseless

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Other Word Forms

• insensately adverb
• insensateness noun

Etymology

Origin of insensate

First recorded in 1510–20, insensate is from the Late Latin word insēnsātus irrational. See in- ³, sensate

Example Sentences

She is under general anaesthesia: unconscious, insensate and rendered completely still by a blend of drugs that induce deep sleep, block memory, blunt pain and temporarily paralyse her muscles.

From BBC

Speaking personally, the terror-fueled adrenaline dump that would have ensued after I read that very first “Do not answer” would have reduced me to an insensate lump.

From New York Times

It was reptilian, insensate, Coleridge’s monster of “motiveless malignity.”

From New York Times

“But if midazolam is not capable of maintaining that insensate state, we may well be producing the same feeling in the person being executed.”

From New York Times

On Monday, the plaintiffs called Dr. Craig Stephens, an Oklahoma State University professor of pharmacology, who testified that midazolam is not an appropriate drug to render a person insensate to pain.

From Seattle Times