insensitive
Americanadjective
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deficient in human sensibility, acuteness of feeling, or consideration; unfeeling; callous.
an insensitive person.
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not physically sensitive.
insensitive skin.
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not affected by physical or chemical agencies or influences.
insensitive to light.
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not readily responsive or aware.
insensitive to the needs of the peasants.
adjective
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lacking sensitivity; unfeeling
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lacking physical sensation
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not sensitive (to) or affected (by)
insensitive to radiation
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of insensitive
Explanation
When you're insensitive, you're not feeling something. You can be insensitive to the weather or other people's problems. This word has two meanings that are closely related. When your foot is asleep, it's insensitive or numb — you can't feel your friend poking at it. When you get really cold, you can become insensitive to pain. In the other sense, insensitive means the opposite of caring and sympathetic — you're insensitive to other people's feelings. If you make a joke about your friend's bad haircut when you know she's embarrassed about it, you're being insensitive.
Vocabulary lists containing insensitive
Out of My Mind
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"The Perils of Indifference," Vocabulary from the speech
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Game Changer
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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.
One wonderfully executed sequence, in which Jonathan’s aunt calmly utters uncomfortable truths to the hypocritical and insensitive diners around her, is shocking and hilarious.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
The filing alleged Flores deceptively edited the recordings to hide his own insensitive remarks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
For Jutta Ambrositsch, a pioneering figure among the new wave of Viennese winemakers, "the major problem is insensitive and careless real estate development in the 'heurigen areas'".
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Was it an insensitive thing to say, in retrospect?
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
“It was just a figure of speech—half a brain, you know—and a clumsy, insensitive one.”
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
