1
as in inanimate
lacking animate awareness or sensation
refused to believe that the universe as we know it evolved from the random interactions of insentient particles of matter
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in imperceptive
not having or showing a deep understanding of something
an insentient therapist who failed to see what the teenager's real problem was
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of insentient
This is partly because the loss of insentient machinery, no matter how expensive, is easier to stomach than the death of an aircrew.
—
Lauren Kahn, Foreign Affairs, 6 June 2023
But its shortcomings are essentially those of the novel: its single-track didacticism; its neat pitting of romantic idealists against macho, insentient normies; and the fact that a decisive plot twist can be spotted a mile off.
—Houman Barekat, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2023
Genes are insentient things and cannot be said to have any kind of purposeful selfish or unselfish behavior.
—Quanta Magazine, 14 Sep. 2017
Lauren Kahn, Foreign Affairs, 6 June 2023
But its shortcomings are essentially those of the novel: its single-track didacticism; its neat pitting of romantic idealists against macho, insentient normies; and the fact that a decisive plot twist can be spotted a mile off.
—Houman Barekat, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2023
Genes are insentient things and cannot be said to have any kind of purposeful selfish or unselfish behavior.
—Quanta Magazine, 14 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insentient
Adjective
-
But there are inanimate pets in the cemetery.—
Jennie Key,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
31 Mar. 2026
-
On the morning after the hurricane, these objects revert to their inanimate status quo—but the deviation has been recorded, as fiction.—
Hannah Gold,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Echoing the decade's sleek silhouettes, Tyra Banks and Naomi Campbell wound their manes into taut high ponytails that emphasized their chiseled features; the former securing hers with scrunchie, and the latter wrapping a section around the elastic to imperceptive effect.—
Lauren Valenti,
Vogue,
19 Aug. 2021
Adjective
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Upon arrival, officers found the man lying on the ground, unconscious and cold to the touch, the department said.—
Jeramie Bizzle,
CBS News,
4 May 2026
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Parker and Larsen arrived at the home and found two men unconscious in a hallway between a bedroom and a bathroom.—
Lexi Lane,
PEOPLE,
3 May 2026
Adjective
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Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran — theyr’e not stupid.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
3 May 2026
-
That was celebrated by the lefties as liberation, or something stupid like that.—
Joe Kinsey OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
1 May 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
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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
-
Memory, conveyed by an unperceptive, mechanically flowing camera, seems disconnected from culture.—
Armond White,
National Review,
19 Nov. 2021
-
He could not be seen, just as the little black boy was not seen, or was seen inaccurately, by the unperceptive and disdainful white boy.—
Louise Glück,
The New York Review of Books,
14 Jan. 2021
Adjective
-
These dumb little kids were freaking bored.—
Emma Seiwell,
New York Daily News,
8 May 2026
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The series will now be hosted by British comedian Jack Whitehall and the network has lined up a phalanx of celebrities aiming not to be the dumbest in the country.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
That would be unwise, given its steady sales and good fit in its market.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
2 May 2026
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Some users agreed that enabling message previews on any kind of device—not just Apple’s—seemed unwise in light of 404 Media’s reporting.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Insentient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insentient. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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