insensible
Americanadjective
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- torpid, emotionless, passionless, dull, cool, indifferent, unfeeling, apathetic
-
not susceptible of emotion or passion; void of any feeling.
- Synonyms:
- cool, indifferent, unfeeling, apathetic, torpid, emotionless, passionless, dull
-
not endowed with feeling or sensation, as matter; inanimate.
adjective
-
lacking sensation or consciousness
-
unaware (of) or indifferent (to)
insensible to suffering
-
thoughtless or callous
-
a less common word for imperceptible
Synonym Usage
See indifference.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of insensible
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Latin word insēnsibilis. See in- 3, sensible
Explanation
The adjective insensible is used to describe someone who is unconscious. If you keep your bowling ball on the top shelf of the closet and it rolls out and conks you on the head, you will probably be rendered insensible. The adjective insensible describes a lack of emotional response or being indifferent. If your friend says that the roller coaster was so scary it nearly made him vomit and you shrug and say, "Eh, it was okay," he may think you are insensible to fear. A lack of physical sensation can also be described as insensible. If your nerve endings are not acute and you don't feel much pain, you are insensible to pain. This can be dangerous, though, because you might not notice if you get hurt skateboarding.
Vocabulary lists containing insensible
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 7
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But the Cylinder Sling by Building Block flirts with such attitude without becoming rude or insensible.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2024
"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 • May 10, 2023
Yes, it’s fairly sentimental insofar as it dwells on how feelings color the world, but it’s not insensible to the gaps that feelings alone can’t fill.
From Washington Post • Jun. 18, 2021
Lying insensible in the hospital, Hwang imagines a big, brash, classic American-style musical, replete with high-kicking chorus lines and bright harmonies.
From The New Yorker • Oct. 21, 2019
Curzon lay insensible, his skin burning with fever, his eyes rolled up into his head.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
