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as in unconscious
having lost consciousness if a choking person is insensible, you should lay them down on their back before performing the Heimlich maneuver

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as in insensate
lacking animate awareness or sensation even the canyon's insensible rocks seemed to mock the stranded climber's utter helplessness

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of insensible Also invited, for insensible reasons, is Neville’s first wife, Audrey (Ella Lily Hyland), blond to Kay’s brunette, for easy identification. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2025 The ‘real’ Camille, meanwhile, has become an insensible, comatose carcass, although no one seems to notice. Damon Wise, Deadline, 24 Jan. 2025 Foreman tumbled downward in a dizzy, slow-motion-like crash, full-weight, a helpless giant, insensible. Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone, 17 Jan. 2025 The ‘real’ Camille, meanwhile, has become an insensible, comatose carcass, although no one seems to notice. Damon Wise, Deadline, 24 Jan. 2025 Foreman tumbled downward in a dizzy, slow-motion-like crash, full-weight, a helpless giant, insensible. Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone, 17 Jan. 2025 Or lobbyists can sometimes intervene and gain insensible exemptions from bans. IEEE Spectrum, 10 Feb. 2024 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insensible
Adjective
  • According to the district attorney’s office, the autopsy also revealed that Bella still may have been alive, although unconscious, when Landon folded her body and stuffed it in the bucket head first.
    Nicole Acosta, People.com, 6 May 2025
  • The pregnant woman, who had been in her second trimester, was found unconscious and not breathing when police arrived at the home, the probable cause said.
    Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 5 May 2025
Adjective
  • At times, he’s provided a nice offensive punch for the Leafs, but was mostly invisible against Ottawa.
    Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 2 May 2025
  • Now, through sharing her journey online, Towle hopes to challenge those stereotypes not just about cancer, but about invisible illness in general.
    Jordan Greene, People.com, 2 May 2025
Adjective
  • The Heat and Grizzlies gave the people nonchalant regular-season basketball, and got thrown out the club as a result.
    The Athletic NBA Staff, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
  • But despite his nonchalant vibe, Poulter is completely locked in, never distracted by the frequent comings and goings around us.
    Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The brain, like other internal organs, is insensate, its lack of sensory receptors attested by videos of virtuoso violinists who play on unfazed as neurosurgeons go to work inside their skulls.
    Matthew Ponsford, WIRED, 19 Sep. 2024
  • But states have used midazolam alone — and at much higher doses — in executions since 2013, claiming the drug will render people insensate to pain before the administration of other lethal injection drugs.
    Lauren Gill, ProPublica, 29 Apr. 2023
Adjective
  • Climate change vandals spray-painted a Tesla car dealership in Manhattan on Tuesday to protest Elon Musk’s work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), but as police arrived, the activists could be seen cleaning off some of the vulgar writing.
    Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2025
  • Two of the protesters are facing counts including obstructing a law enforcement officer and simple battery on a law enforcement officer, while a third has been charged with using vulgar language, according to Acworth police.
    Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Problematic to be sure, but also a very in-character move for an ignorant buffoon.
    Ben Rosenstock, Time, 6 May 2025
  • But here's a reminder for us: casual cruelty, performed by ignorant fascists.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 5 May 2025
Adjective
  • Now, most tremors are less than magnitude 3, basically imperceptible, and life on the island is returning to normal.
    Niki Kitsantonis, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
  • When dusk descends into darkness, thousands of the insects light up in unison to the beat of some imperceptible drum.
    Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The assault is alleged to have taken place in June at 2 Sisters 4 Brothers Restaurant and Lounge, a casual eatery and dance venue in New York City's East Harlem neighborhood.
    Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 3 May 2025
  • With the casual straight leg and cropped legs, Oprah’s pair is so spring-coded.
    Jamie Allison Sanders, People.com, 2 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Insensible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insensible. Accessed 13 May. 2025.

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