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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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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Man who caused crash was ‘crying on his knees’ When police arrived at the crash, Brooke was found unconscious and bleeding from her head, according to court documents.—
Amaia Gavica,
Idaho Statesman,
26 June 2025
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Some recounted seeing a man knocked unconscious, a flight attendant who suffered an injury to their arm and another burned by hot water that spilled from the drink cart.—
Colson Thayer,
People.com,
24 June 2025
Adjective
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Confronting Iran’s ruthless campaign of terror, nuclear ambitions, and regional aggression demands strength, resolve, and strategic clarity.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
21 June 2025
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Michael Fassbender plays the deceased Apple guru — a flawed, ruthless, but ultimately compassionate soul.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
20 June 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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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
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Players have openly voiced their struggles with its deep rough, lightning-fast greens, and merciless bunkers.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 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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There's also an interesting shot toward the end of the trailer with Ben Grimm sporting what appears to be a stony beard as the Human Torch carries him.—
Michileen Martin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
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His stony reaction to the red card in the moment did not betray any sense of injustice.—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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The girls taking her out of the competition was senseless, as Iris and Amaya didn’t have a similar connection with someone else.—
Armando Tinoco,
Deadline,
23 June 2025
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The book’s a meld of true crime, memoir and social commentary, but with a mission: to shock readers into a deeper understanding of the American Nightmare, ecological devastation entwined with senseless sadism.—
Hamilton Cain,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2025
Adjective
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The tragedy is one of several similar incidents of mass death among migrants who put their lives into the hands of callous smugglers to make it to the U.S. In 2017 in San Antonio, 10 immigrants died after being trapped in a truck parked outside of a Walmart.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
28 June 2025
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Immigrant rights advocates say the use of tents in a remote swamp during peak summer heat shows a callous disregard for the health and dignity of detainees.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
24 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Insensate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insensate. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.
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