1
as in unconscious
lacking animate awareness or sensation
the belief that God is immanent in all things, even insensate objects
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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
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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
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In some cases, AI feedback forced Martinez to reflect on how unconscious bias may have shaped his original assessment.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
8 July 2025
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Used responsibly, these systems can offer clearer benchmarks and reduce unconscious bias.—
Andrew Fennell,
Forbes.com,
7 July 2025
Adjective
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As a member of a crew that robs banks, Mr. Blonde is the most ruthless.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 July 2025
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As they’re hunted by a ruthless drug gang led by the menacing Power (Aidan Gillen), their fight for survival becomes a journey of redemption.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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Partners View all partners Tropical reefs might look like inanimate rock, but these colorful seascapes are built by tiny jellyfish-like animals called corals.—
Noam Vogt-Vincent,
The Conversation,
6 June 2025
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Still, what separates living, breathing beings from inanimate matter remains frustratingly set in my mind.—
Elizabeth Rush,
The Atlantic,
26 May 2025
Adjective
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Frank Trapper / Contributor/Corbis Entertainment Lydia is a high-ranking and merciless executive at Madrigal Electromotive who helps supply Walt's meth operation.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 July 2025
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While Charlie Brown played things safe, Snoopy lived an exuberant life in his imagination, casting himself as a frustrated novelist, gleeful dancer, merciless attorney and even a prolific flying ace in a World War I Sopwith Camel.—
Chris Carra,
Smithsonian Magazine,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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Then, the men had to walk around as these unfeeling, aggressive, hyper-masculine creatures.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
EW.com,
28 May 2025
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Tabo turns, in his mother’s eyes, into a cold and unfeeling stone.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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And most of those business people tend to have rather stony, cold, dead eyes.—
Andrew Tobias,
Vulture,
7 July 2025
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The reef is home to 45 species of stony corals, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and 6,000 species of marine line total.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
3 July 2025
Adjective
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Please look at this and help remove this senseless provision.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 July 2025
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Ideally, this leads to a place where even the unthinkable doesn’t seem senseless.—
Jane Ciabattari
June 24,
Literary Hub,
24 June 2025
Adjective
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The victims of this callous misappropriation of what was once considered simple and pure science are all of us.—
Joe Murphy,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 July 2025
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And at a moment when the Fast and Furious movies’ celebration of family has turned into self-parody, this warm, emotional movie is actually touching in its portrait of a community bonding together to defeat the rich, callous outsiders (portrayed here by Susan Sarandon).—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Insensate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insensate. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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