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
Relevance
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
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As a result, the concept of animal rights was non-existent and people were free to treat animals like any other inanimate property.
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Both cameras have extremely sticky tracking systems that focus on the eyes of people, wildlife, pets, and insects, as well as inanimate subjects like trains, planes, automobiles, and motorbikes.
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.
Adjective
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She was found unconscious in the bay and had emergency brain surgery at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital the night of the crash.
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The man was unconscious and unresponsive after hitting the ground, police said.
Adjective
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But even the most perfect Constitution can be undone by the wicked with the help of the bought, the stupid, and the cowardly.
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White can believe Hokit said something stupid and still believe fighters should be allowed to speak for themselves.
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.
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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.
Adjective
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Memory, conveyed by an unperceptive, mechanically flowing camera, seems disconnected from culture.
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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.
Adjective
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And the script’s very cute but deeply dumb leading man, Alex (Nico Carney), climbs a flight of stairs toward his best friend’s bedroom door.
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And there are no ego-destroying confrontations with people who know how to do things, who tell you that your idea is dumb.
Adjective
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And given this context, Anthropic’s actions are viewed by many within Washington as not simply unwise, but actively antagonistic.
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For their part, do politicians and agency leaders like it when their pet projects are assessed by intelligence as unwise or infeasible?
Cite this Entry
“Insentient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insentient. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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