INSENSITIVITIES Synonyms: 136 Similar and Opposite Words

insensitive

adjective

(ˌ)in-ˈsen(t)-s(ə-)tiv

Definition of insensitive

as in ruthless

having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings an insensitive remark about his deceased wife that was incredibly rude

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in numb

lacking in sensation or feeling fingers rendered insensitive by the cold

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 insensitive Many assumed that Ramée was white, and believed that his comment was not only cringe but also insensitive. — Owen Carry, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026 The filing alleged Flores deceptively edited the recordings to hide his own insensitive remarks and suggested he was motivated by a desire to win a large legal settlement in court. — Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026 The move comes amid allegations from a local independent media outlet that Boltinhouse had posted insensitive social media messages between 2017 and 2019 under an alias. — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2026 Each of these four Big Players was insensitive to the discipline of peer review. — Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 29 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for insensitive

Recent Examples of Synonyms for insensitive

Adjective

Once the ruthless commander of Bosnian Serb forces, Mladic oversaw the siege of Sarajevo, mass killings and the 1995 Srebrenica massacre that left more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys dead.

— Jovana Gec, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter, like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

— Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of ruthless

Adjective

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to reveal details of the administration’s sanctions plans later today on a country which has so far been numb to economic pain.

— Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
Then, in late May 1986, Kontras, whose tall, athletic build discloses a lifelong dedication to good health, noticed a swelling on the left side of his back that was numb to the touch.

— Jeff Murray, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of numb

Adjective

When Bill’s older brother Henry (Barry Ward) finds the pianist in numbed solitude in his dingy apartment, Bill has canceled all his upcoming gigs, saying Scotty cannot be replaced.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026
Ingber also notes the numbed response to these strikes from much of the American public, something that, in part, may come from the routine nature of these drone strikes as something that the nation has become desensitized to dropping bombs on enemies.

— Rebecca Schneid, Time, 21 Oct. 2025

Definition of numbed

Adjective

Oscar Wilde, for example, reposes beneath a hulking deity whose iconoclastic castration, back in 1961, did little to restrain pilgrims seeking to smear red lips across his stony physique.

— Emily Cox, ARTnews.com, 22 May 2026
Instead of looking like a sleek urban loft, the room can quickly start to feel cold, stony, and impersonal.

— Natasha Bazika, Martha Stewart, 9 May 2026

Definition of stony

Adjective

Just not as much as the callous bosses who created this indefensible, toxic situation and the fanatics who once cheered it.

— Candace Buckner, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
This is a callous continuation of the ongoing campaign by the same individuals and groups targeting Jewish people and the state of Israel, a pattern of antisemitism and misinformation that puts our community in grave danger.

— K.J. Yossman, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of callous

Adjective

Civilizations could have risen to their zenith and crumbled in the time our micrometeoroid spent traversing the unfeeling expanse of interplanetary space, but its demise lasted but a fraction of a second.

— Anthony Wood, Space.com, 21 July 2026
Readers can judge Jane and me, deciding that one of us was unfeeling or uncomprehending.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 July 2026