insensible

American  

[in-sen-suh-buhl] / ɪnˈsɛn sə bəl /

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.

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insensible British  

/ 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

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Related Words

See indifference.

Other Word Forms

• insensibility noun
• insensibly adverb

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.

Example Sentences

"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

Butkus’s image was a metaphor for what pro football players had become over 50 years: preternatural creatures, cold, insensible to hurt.

From Washington Post • Sep. 24, 2020

The car is a dark conglomerate of metal, glass, and plastic, as inanimate and insensible as a stone.

From The New Yorker • Feb. 4, 2019

A week later, the telegraph lines clattered with news of Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theatre in Washington and the chilling way it was put into words by Stanton: “The president continues insensible and is sinking.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 19, 2016

She was making her final knots behind me when I felt a vague, featherlike touch on my shoulder, almost insensible through the nahlrout that numbed me.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss