insensible

From Middle English insensible, from Old French insensible, from Late Latin īnsēnsibilis.

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈsɛns.ɪ.bəl/,
• Hyphenation: in‧sen‧si‧ble

insensible (comparative more insensible, superlative most insensible)

1. Unable to be perceived by the senses.

   Synonyms: imperceptible, unperceivable; see also Thesaurus:imperceptible

   Antonyms: perceptible, sensible; see also Thesaurus:perceptible

   • 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: , 2nd edition, London: A Miller, for Edw Dod and Nath Ekins, , →OCLC:

     Two small and almost insensible pricks were found upon Cleopatra's arm.

   • 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. , London: Jacob Tonson, , →OCLC:

     They fall away, / And languish with insensible decay.

2. Incapable or deprived of physical sensation.

   Synonyms: anesthetic, insensate, insensitive, unsensitive

   Antonyms: sensate, sensible

   • 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Fate of the Artemis”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:

     “ […] Captain Markam had been found lying half-insensible, gagged and bound, on the floor of the sitting-room, his hands and feet tightly pinioned, and a woollen comforter wound closely round his mouth and neck ; whilst Mrs. Markham's jewel-case, containing valuable jewellery and the secret plans of Port Arthur, had disappeared. […]”

   • 2023 December 27, David Turner, “Silent lines...”, in RAIL, number 999, page 29:

     The Leicester Daily Mercury reflected on how these concerns were the result of changing ways of getting around: "It might sound a bit crazy or just a little revolting that at Christmas works parties, some should drink themselves into a near-insensible state... This was not serious when they used public transport, but today more men and women use their own cars."

3. Unable to be understood; unintelligible.

   Synonyms: inscrutable, unexplainable; see also Thesaurus:incomprehensible

4. Not sensible or reasonable; meaningless.

   Synonyms: pointless, senseless

   • 1736, Matthew Hale, Historia Placitorum Coronæ:

     If it make the indictment be insensible or uncertain, […] it shall be quashed.

5. Incapable of mental feeling; indifferent.

   Synonyms: insouciant, unconcerned; see also Thesaurus:apathetic

   • 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. , London: Jacob Tonson, , →OCLC:

     Lost in their loves, insensible of shame.

   • 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: , volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: for T Egerton, , →OCLC:

     In spite of her deep-rooted dislike, she could not be insensible to the compliment of such a man's affection […]

6. Incapable of emotional feeling; callous; apathetic.

   Synonyms: emotionless, insensitive; see also Thesaurus:alexithymic

• insensibility
• insensibly

Inherited from Old French insensible, from Late Latin īnsēnsibilis.

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.sɑ̃.sibl/
• Homophone: insensibles

insensible (plural insensibles)

1. insensible
2. impervious
3. unperceivable, imperceptible

   Synonym: imperceptible

• insensiblement

• “insensible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Borrowed from Late Latin īnsēnsibilis.

• IPA^(key): /insenˈsible/
• Rhymes: -ible
• Syllabification: in‧sen‧si‧ble

insensible m or f (masculine and feminine plural insensibles)

1. insensible, insensitive, callous, cold, tactless

   Antonym: sensible

• “insensible”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10