Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

insentient

[in-sen-shee-uh nt, -shuh nt]
See more synonyms for insentient on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. not sentient; without sensation or feeling; inanimate.
Show More

Origin of insentient

First recorded in 1755–65; in-3 + sentient
Related formsin·sen·ti·ence, in·sen·ti·en·cy, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

insensatecolddeaddefunctdullextinctidleinactiveinertinoperativelifelessmotionlessquiescentsoullessspiritlessazoicexanimatemineral

Examples from the Web for insentient

Historical Examples

  • But there can be nothing like to this sensation in the rose, because it is insentient.

    Lectures on the Philosophy of the Human Mind (Vol. 1 of 3)

    Thomas Brown

  • Yvonne unresisting, insentient, went whither she was bidden to go.

    Lord Tony's Wife

    Baroness Emmuska Orczy

  • He knelt, compassion gentling his heart, and put one hand to the insentient face.

    The Black Bag

    Louis Joseph Vance

  • On his feet, straddling Mulready's insentient body, he confronted Calendar and Stryker.

    The Black Bag

    Louis Joseph Vance

  • A moment ago she had been an insentient atom sunk deep in impenetrable night; now she was herself—and it was broad daylight.

    The Bandbox

    Louis Joseph Vance

British Dictionary definitions for insentient

insentient

adjective
  1. rare lacking consciousness or senses; inanimate
Show More
Derived Formsinsentience or insentiency, noun
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