insensible

adjective in·sen·si·ble \ (ˌ)in-ˈsen(t)-sə-bəl \

Examples: insensible in a Sentence

Definition of insensible

1 : imperceptible

dampened by an insensible dew

; broadly : slight, gradual

insensible motion

2 : incapable or bereft of feeling or sensation: such as

a : not endowed with life or spirit : insentient

insensible earth

b : unconscious

knocked insensible by a sudden blow

c : lacking sensory perception or ability to react

insensible to pain

3 a : lacking emotional response : apathetic, indifferent

insensible to fear

b : unaware

insensible of their danger

4 archaic : stupid, senseless

5 : not intelligible : meaningless

6 : lacking delicacy or refinement

—

insensibility

play \(ˌ)in-ˌsen(t)-sə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun

—

insensibleness

play \(ˌ)in-ˈsen(t)-sə-bəl-nəs\ noun

—

insensibly

play \(ˌ)in-ˈsen(t)-sə-blē\ adverb

See insensible defined for English-language learners

See insensible defined for kids

Examples of insensible in a Sentence

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 of insensible from the Web

Often animals from these woods were imagined as insensible beasts.

— ankita chakraborty, Longreads, "A Crocodile In Paris: The Queer Classics of Qiu Miaojin," 8 June 2018
Although the bulb of the follicle is alive, the hair shaft is dead and insensible.

— katy waldman, Slate Magazine, "Siri Hustvedt’s preening essays take their author’s own brilliance as their main subject.," 13 Jan. 2017
Eclipses happen because every now and then, in predictable but still primally unsettling cycles, a warm, bright, life-giving object is obscured by a dark, dead, insensible rock.

— jeffrey kluger, Time, "Trump's Anti-Obama Eclipse Meme Doesn't Make Scientific Sense," 24 Aug. 2017
The process exposes birds to a gas mixture that renders them insensible to pain or distress before slaughter.

— the washington post, AL.com, "Perdue Farms unveiling more humane chicken slaughtering methods," 17 July 2017

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.