1
as in unconscious
lacking animate awareness or sensation
the belief that God is immanent in all things, even insensate objects
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
an insensate boss who refuses to allow time off for funerals
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 insensate
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
Jerome Powell and his Federal Reserve colleagues are hardly insensate to the risk that their inflation-fighting actions might bring Mr. Trump back to power.
—Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 14 June 2022
Realigning themselves with sophomoric virtues, the stars sell their souls in accommodation to the insensate new era.
—Armond White, National Review, 28 Oct. 2020
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
Jerome Powell and his Federal Reserve colleagues are hardly insensate to the risk that their inflation-fighting actions might bring Mr. Trump back to power.
—Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 14 June 2022
Realigning themselves with sophomoric virtues, the stars sell their souls in accommodation to the insensate new era.
—Armond White, National Review, 28 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insensate
Adjective
-
Naroditsky, a child prodigy who became one of the most influential American voices in the sport, was found this week unconscious on a sofa by his friends grandmaster Oleksandr Bortnyk and Peter Giannatos, founder of the Charlotte Chess Center.—
Jake Lubbehusen,
NBC news,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Those few villagers who miraculously lived were rendered unconscious.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Those hoping to snatch a home in this busy period faced limited options on the market, as the country’s developers had chronically underbuilt compared to demand in the years following the subprime mortgage crisis, leading to ruthless bidding wars and climbing home values.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Hedda orchestrates a ruthless game of manipulation, where lust, jealousy and betrayal collide.—
Patrick Hipes,
Deadline,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Many people backed his daughter because there was a dog outside in a way, while others acknowledge how creepy that inanimate face could be to a child.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Thin bony fingers as inanimate as dry cigarette papers.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
16 July 2025
Adjective
-
Just clean, merciless, fundamental football.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Chat members were merciless in their rhetoric against fellow Young Republicans in competing factions of the organization.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The greatest accusation levied against her is the crime of being an unfeeling mother.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
11 Aug. 2025
-
Then, the men had to walk around as these unfeeling, aggressive, hyper-masculine creatures.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
EW.com,
28 May 2025
Adjective
-
The images show thousands of homes turned to stony wreckage, green fields turned to dust, the veins of the city’s old roadways still visible.—
Freddie Clayton,
NBC news,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Give her the chance to play pathos, and Squibb can crack your stony heart in half.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
If genre-faithful true crime seeks sense in motive, Kraus is seeking those senseless systems that both produce violence and strip it of meaning.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Brown bagging is one of those social practices that continues to feel senseless even after it’s been explained.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
President Biden singularly stands out in his callous enabling of the horrors inflicted on Gaza for more than a year.—
Shibley Telhami,
Time,
13 Oct. 2025
-
One memorable moment comes early, when another call between Polly and her mother tilts into dread as the voice on the phone morphs into a more callous, sinister being.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Insensate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insensate. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share