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
-
Disinfect Surfaces Cold-causing viruses can survive on inanimate surface areas for hours.—
Christopher Bergland,
Verywell Health,
15 Jan. 2026
-
Songbirds bond for seasons, octopuses defend their mates, and children shower their affection on inanimate plushies.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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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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Police reportedly said Camferdam is the individual seen in the now-viral video stomping on Epperson’s head, which ultimately left him unconscious.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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The 50-year-old woman who perished, and whose identity was not immediately released, was found unconscious and unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene, an NYPD spokesperson said.—
Theodore Parisienne,
New York Daily News,
25 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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What happens, though, when those excesses transcend the merely stupid, the merely unjust, to become existential?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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People who approve of ICE’s actions aren’t necessarily stupid or evil.—
Dev Patnaik,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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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
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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
-
Okay, there's trying something new and then there's just being dumb.—
Samantha Highfill,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Why portray Dorothy as a doe-eyed ding-a-ling; as not just naive but dumb?—
Lili Anolik,
Vanity Fair,
12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Handing over credit card or contact details to the people running these sites is, at best, unwise and, at worst, a recipe for malware and identity theft.—
Olivia Solon,
Bloomberg,
27 Jan. 2026
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Only 42 seconds after Will Cuylle’s goal for New York, Fiala scored his 18th goal by intercepting an unwise pass by former Kings teammate Vladislav Gavrikov.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Insentient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insentient. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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