Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

insensible

[in-sen-suh-buh l]
See more synonyms for insensible on Thesaurus.com
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.
  6. not susceptible of emotion or passion; void of any feeling.
  7. not endowed with feeling or sensation, as matter; inanimate.
Show More

Origin of insensible

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Latin word insēnsibilis. See in-3, sensible
Related formsin·sen·si·bly, adverbin·sen·si·bil·i·ty, noun

Synonyms

See more synonyms for insensible on Thesaurus.com
5, 6. apathetic, unfeeling, indifferent, cool; dull, passionless, emotionless, torpid.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for insensibility

Historical Examples

  • He had seized upon her by violence in a moment of insensibility.

    Imogen

    William Godwin

  • It was obvious that he was going to be beaten into insensibility.

    In the Orbit of Saturn

    Roman Frederick Starzl

  • And yet, even at the time, I did not suspect him of insensibility.

    Under Western Eyes

    Joseph Conrad

  • The shock jarred his boiling brain into the perfect quietude of insensibility.

    A Set of Six

    Joseph Conrad

  • I believe that insensibility like this is not to be paralleled!

    Barrington

    Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for insensibility

insensible

adjective
  1. lacking sensation or consciousness
  2. (foll by of or to) unaware (of) or indifferent (to)insensible to suffering
  3. thoughtless or callous
  4. a less common word for imperceptible
Show More
Derived Formsinsensibility or insensibleness, nouninsensibly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for insensibility

n.

late 14c., from Late Latin insensibilitas, from Latin insensibilis (see insensible).

Show More

insensible

adj.

c.1400, "lacking the power to feel with the senses," from Latin insensibilis "that cannot be felt," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + sensibilis (see sensible). Also sometimes in Middle English "incapable of being felt or perceived by the senses" (early 15c.). Meaning "unconscious" is attested from early 15c. See insensate.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
insensibility in Medicine

insensible

(ĭn-sĕn′sə-bəl)
adj.
  1. Having lost consciousness, especially temporarily; unconscious.
  2. Lacking physical sensation or the power to react, as to pain or cold; numb.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.