insensible

[in-sen-suh-buhl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR insensible ON THESAURUS.COM

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 insensible

cold, gradual, imperceptible, inanimate, insensate, numb, obdurate, oblivious, torpid, unaware, unconscious, unfeeling, unintelligible, unmindful, inappreciable

Examples from the Web for insensible

Contemporary Examples of insensible

This is a trial in the court of public opinion, to which the elected Manhattan district attorney is not insensible.
Judge Drops Strauss-Kahn Charges
Christopher Dickey, John Solomon
August 22, 2011

Historical Examples of insensible

I was not insensible to the advantages of his proposal, and gladly assured him of my acceptance.
Tanglewood Tales
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Mr. Hervey could not be insensible to her distress or to her delicacy.
Tales And Novels, Volume 3 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
I am not insensible of the need of spiritual renovation in our Society.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VII (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
He was lying there insensible, blood oozing from a wound in the forehead.
The Channings
Mrs. Henry Wood
Let then your future life show that you are not insensible of the magnitude of the obligation.
Gomez Arias
Joaqun Telesforo de Trueba y Coso

British Dictionary definitions for insensible

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 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.

insensible 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.