insensible

[in-sen-suh-buhl]

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adjective

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

without or not subject to a particular feeling or sensation: insensible to shame; insensible to the cold.

unaware; unconscious; inappreciative: We are not insensible of your kindness.

not perceptible by the senses; imperceptible: insensible transitions.

unresponsive in feeling.

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

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

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 for insensible

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. 2019

Related Words for insensibility

inactivity, unconsciousness, stupor, lethargy, numbness, trance, apathy, torpor, stupefaction, coma, indifference, anesthesia, narcosis, analgesia, insusceptibility, narcoma

Examples from the Web for insensibility

Historical Examples of insensibility

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

lacking sensation or consciousness

(foll by of or to) unaware (of) or indifferent (to)insensible to suffering

thoughtless or callous

a less common word for imperceptible

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

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

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.

insensibility in Medicine

insensible

[ĭn-sĕn′sə-bəl]

adj.

Having lost consciousness, especially temporarily; unconscious.

Lacking physical sensation or the power to react, as to pain or cold; numb.