insensible

adjective

in·sen·si·ble (ˌ)in-ˈsen(t)-sə-bəl

: incapable or bereft of feeling or sensation: such as

: lacking sensory perception or ability to react

insensible to pain

: unconscious

knocked insensible by a sudden blow

: not endowed with life or spirit : insentient

insensible earth

: unaware

insensible of their danger

: lacking emotional response : apathetic, indifferent

insensible to fear

: not intelligible : meaningless

: imperceptible

dampened by an insensible dew

broadly : slight, gradual

insensible motion

: lacking delicacy or refinement

archaic : stupid, senseless

insensibility

(ˌ)in-ˌsen(t)-sə-ˈbi-lə-tē

noun

insensibleness

(ˌ)in-ˈsen(t)-sə-bəl-nəs

noun

insensibly

(ˌ)in-ˈsen(t)-sə-blē

adverb

Example Sentences

She was knocked insensible by the collision. if a choking person is insensible, you should lay them down on their back before performing the Heimlich maneuver

Recent Examples on the Web But the Cylinder Sling by Building Block flirts with such attitude without becoming rude or insensible.

Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2022 The novel positions him as insensible to agendas, hopelessly subject to the whims of the altruistic and the cruel.

Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2022 Armando Iannucci’s brilliant 2017 farce, The Death of Stalin, explores that question on a literal plane, with Stalin’s deputies frantically maneuvering for position while Stalin, not yet entirely dead, lies insensible and unattended on the floor.

Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 22 Apr. 2022 Combat troops get inured to death, but Yaroslav’s comrades seemed to me beyond inured, insensible.

New York Times, 16 Jan. 2022 Being sick also can lead to insensible fluid loss, such as sweating from fever or blowing your nose, Rosner says, while vomiting or diarrhea can exacerbate fluid loss.

Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2021 Over the next several hundred pages, naïve and self-deceiving Russ remains insensible to the desires of his wife Marion, who makes plans to reunite with her old flame and rediscover her old, uninhibited self.

Merve Emre, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2021 Through some accidental sorcery involving a spreadsheet, Gerald has transferred his consciousness into the app, leaving his insensible body behind in his apartment.

Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2021 Elder is not insensible to homelessness, and proposes to solve it by waiving California’s Environmental Quality Act, which mandates disclosure about the environmental impact of most housing developments.

Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'insensible.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.