insensible

[in-sen-suh-buhl]

adjective

1. incapable of feeling or perceiving; deprived of sensation; unconscious, as a person after a violent blow.

2. without or not subject to a particular feeling or sensation.

   insensible to shame; insensible to the cold.

3. unaware; unconscious; inappreciative.

   We are not insensible of your kindness.

4. not perceptible by the senses; imperceptible.

   insensible transitions.

5. unresponsive in feeling.

   Synonyms: torpid, emotionless, passionless, dull, cool, indifferent, unfeeling, apathetic

6. not susceptible of emotion or passion; void of any feeling.

   Synonyms: cool, indifferent, unfeeling, apathetic, torpid, emotionless, passionless, dull

7. not endowed with feeling or sensation, as matter; inanimate.

insensible

/ ɪnˈsɛnsəbəl /

adjective

1. lacking sensation or consciousness

2. unaware (of) or indifferent (to)

   insensible to suffering

3. thoughtless or callous

4. a less common word for imperceptible

Other Word Forms

• insensibly adverb
• insensibility noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of insensible¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Latin word insēnsibilis. See in- ³, sensible

Synonym Study

See indifference.

Example Sentences

I call this process catastrophic gradualism: the small, almost insensible accumulation of evils, fairly minor in their individual character, but which when considered whole, inspire a pervasive feeling of dread.

From Salon

But the Cylinder Sling by Building Block flirts with such attitude without becoming rude or insensible.

From Los Angeles Times

"The Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, passed in 1958, requires all animals be 'rendered insensible to pain' before being shackled or killed — all animals except for poultry," she notes.

From Salon

I would just add one corrective, it wasn't just enslaved Black women, it was that all Black people were insensible to pain.

From Salon

The novel positions him as insensible to agendas, hopelessly subject to the whims of the altruistic and the cruel.

From Washington Post