INSENTIENT Synonyms: 78 Similar and Opposite Words

insentient

adjective

(ˌ)in-ˈsen(t)-sh(ē-)ənt

Definition of insentient

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

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

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 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 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

Then, in European culture, Christianity appeared, a religion which made an astonishing discovery, namely, that the primary cause for everything—humans, animals, nature, fertility, the inanimate world, the universe, the cosmos—could be concentrated into one single point.

— Merve Emre, New Yorker, 28 June 2026
As a result, the concept of animal rights was non-existent and people were free to treat animals like any other inanimate property.

— Rob Toews, Forbes.com, 22 June 2026

Definition of inanimate

Adjective

Studies by psychologists like Ambady, Rosenthal, and Todorov show these snap judgments, often influenced by facial features or unconscious mimicry (the chameleon effect), significantly shape outcomes.

— Andy Molinsky, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
McConnell was hospitalized the morning of June 14 after experiencing a fall that left him briefly unconscious, according to his office.

— Melina Khan, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of unconscious

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

Definition of unperceptive

Adjective

This insensate gaze is one that cannot be returned, as Jacques Lacan observed of the camera pointed at him during his performative lecture Télévision, recorded in 1973 and broadcast on prime-time TV in France.

— Jan Tumlir, Artforum, 5 Aug. 2026
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

Definition of insensate

Adjective

There is a desire for Forest to play with more intensity and higher up the pitch, but the new staff recognise that asking for too much change too quickly would be unwise.

— Paul Taylor, New York Times, 28 July 2026
Needless to say, that would have been unwise for a city with a credit rating perched precariously just above junk status.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 19 July 2026

Definition of unwise

Adjective

Every season of Strange New Worlds has featured at least one episode that emphasizes Star Trek’s silly side (and this may not be the last such outing in season four).

— Keith Phipps, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2026
The silly yellow fruit that became a part of their culture was freighted, from the start, with suggestive meaning.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026