1
as in unconscious
lacking animate awareness or sensation
the belief that God is immanent in all things, even insensate objects
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
an insensate boss who refuses to allow time off for funerals
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Recent Examples of insensate
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
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
Jerome Powell and his Federal Reserve colleagues are hardly insensate to the risk that their inflation-fighting actions might bring Mr. Trump back to power.
—Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 14 June 2022
Realigning themselves with sophomoric virtues, the stars sell their souls in accommodation to the insensate new era.
—Armond White, National Review, 28 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insensate
Adjective
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He was hospitalized, cleared, returned to a jail cell, then found unconscious that afternoon, and succumbed to his injuries, according to the Contra Costa County sheriff’s office.—
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Metcalf remained unconscious when firefighters left the hospital.—
Adjective
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But he's drawn into a deadly Colombian drama involving a new ruthless arms dealer posing as a humanitarian, Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva), and Roxana (Camila Morrone), an American businesswoman.—
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As Iranians know well from 1979, ruthless contests tend to define revolutions.—
Adjective
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Songbirds bond for seasons, octopuses defend their mates, and children shower their affection on inanimate plushies.—
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Many people backed his daughter because there was a dog outside in a way, while others acknowledge how creepy that inanimate face could be to a child.—
Adjective
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With a merciless 56-22 thumping of Oregon in the Peach Bowl, the Hoosiers punched their ticket to their first national championship game appearance in program history.—
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All the while, the president, his top advisers, and his public-affairs offices have pumped out rhetoric and imagery that celebrates the merciless, military-style pursuit of deportations.—
Adjective
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The greatest accusation levied against her is the crime of being an unfeeling mother.—
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Then, the men had to walk around as these unfeeling, aggressive, hyper-masculine creatures.—
Adjective
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Without prosecutors empowered to bring charges against wrongdoers, judges willing to strike down overreach, legislators daring enough to demand investigations and change laws, and citizens outraged enough to protest, any revelations by journalists will fall on stony ground.—
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After that historic journey, NASA charted a new course toward Apophis, a stony metal-rich NEA that offers a sharp scientific contrast to Bennu's carbon-rich composition (and was once thought to pose a serious impact risk to Earth).—
Adjective
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Join me in praying for the victims of such senseless violence and all the families of this church.—
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And now this- a senseless killing of an American by ICE.—
Adjective
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The valuation gods declared a winner in the quest to be America’s premier New York radio station, the callous observer might say.—
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The people behind prediction markets can be even more callous, while also offering even more opportunities to bet.—
Cite this Entry
“Insensate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insensate. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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