1
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in invisible
not perceptible by a sense or by the mind
the fragile glass flowers can be damaged by even the most insensible tremors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in nonchalant
having or showing a lack of interest or concern
city hall remains insensible to our complaints about the downtown parking situation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in insensate
lacking animate awareness or sensation
even the canyon's insensible rocks seemed to mock the stranded climber's utter helplessness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in vulgar
lacking in refinement or good taste
married an insensible brute upon whom the niceties of life were completely lost
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in ignorant
not informed about or aware of something
a scientist who usually is so engrossed in his work that he is quite insensible of the passage of time
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 insensible
Para añadir más ofensas, YouTube TV decidió tomar esta medida durante el Mes de la Herencia Hispana, un acto profundamente insensible y ofensivo.
—
Todd Spangler, Variety, 1 Oct. 2025
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
Or lobbyists can sometimes intervene and gain insensible exemptions from bans.
—IEEE Spectrum, 10 Feb. 2024
The novel positions him as insensible to agendas, hopelessly subject to the whims of the altruistic and the cruel.
—Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2022
Todd Spangler, Variety, 1 Oct. 2025
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
Or lobbyists can sometimes intervene and gain insensible exemptions from bans.
—IEEE Spectrum, 10 Feb. 2024
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
-
Your 6th House of Health tightens under pressure as the unconscious Moon squares aggressive Mars, presently in your 3rd House of Dialogue, so timing and tone carry extra weight.—
Tarot.com,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Saving Rocky In both the book and film, Rocky and Grace’s attempt to collect a sample of the atmosphere of Adrian goes wrong, and Grace ends up unconscious, forcing Rocky to leave his protective bubble and rescue him, seriously injuring himself.—
Matthew Razak,
Space.com,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Studies show the online dating space is less welcoming for Black women willing to try it — experiences include misogynoir, racial fetishes and microaggressions, in addition to biased dating app algorithms that leave many feeling invisible, less desirable and lonely.—
Darcel Rockett,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Mar. 2026
-
The idea of weaponizing invisible characters isn’t new.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
21 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Scott inflicts Ohm’s nonchalant meanness with a piercingly perverse matter-of-factness that places the character as far away as possible from the realm of likeability.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Margot Robbie’s understanding of the assignment is evident, her fringe frame coupled with a low and loosely bound ponytail (another hallmark of the nonchalant set).—
Calin Van Paris,
InStyle,
11 Mar. 2026
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
-
Doncic picked up his 16th technical foul of the season after getting in a heated back-and-forth with Magic center Goga Bitadze, alleging afterward that Bitadze made a vulgar remark in Serbian to him about his family.—
Benjamin Royer,
Oc Register,
22 Mar. 2026
-
The victim's mother allegedly told police that Paljusevic made vulgar comments to the body of the victim's father at the public viewing.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Across Southern California, e-bike popularity has soared, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic — with a disportionate number of young riders ignorant or ignoring the rules of the road, authorities say, leading to crashes and in some cases fatalities.—
Nathaniel Percy,
Oc Register,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Having access to knowledge and being able to collectively reflect are rights too precious to surrender to those who prefer us ignorant.—
Megan Thiele Strong,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Others were more imperceptible, like Rihanna on the red carpet with a baby bump.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
18 Mar. 2026
-
My dream foundation is one that conceals blemishes but is so imperceptible that people will ask me about my skin care routine.—
Kaelin Dodge,
InStyle,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The podcast aesthetic—casual, long-winded, sometimes profane—directly opposes, perhaps not coincidentally, the sterility and bizarre right-this-minute quality of cable news, on which everything seems incomplete and therefore manipulative, and yet somehow endless.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
24 Mar. 2026
-
The result is a smaller but more engaged core market — one that is spending more per household even as casual participation declines.—
Asaf Elia-Shalev,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Insensible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insensible. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
