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
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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According to People, Idol collapsed in a hotel elevator as the doors opened and closed on his unconscious body.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
FOXNews.com,
13 June 2025
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John Moncayo, a spokesperson for Olathe police, said Ferguson was found unconscious at the pool and could not be resuscitated by first responders.—
Bella Waters,
Kansas City Star,
10 June 2025
Adjective
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Related Stories Said to be the first book in a series, Little Hands watches as a young British woman with a mysterious past inadvertently joins a ruthless gang of female thieves who rob the ultra-wealthy along the French Riviera.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
9 June 2025
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New threats emerge, including a ruthless new villain (Bill Skarsgård) and a blind assassin from Wick’s past, played by Donnie Yen in a standout performance.—
Emily Blackwood,
People.com,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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Partners View all partners Tropical reefs might look like inanimate rock, but these colorful seascapes are built by tiny jellyfish-like animals called corals.—
Noam Vogt-Vincent,
The Conversation,
6 June 2025
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Still, what separates living, breathing beings from inanimate matter remains frustratingly set in my mind.—
Elizabeth Rush,
The Atlantic,
26 May 2025
Adjective
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The film is cold-bloodedly whimsical, asking the audience to root for a merciless man who endeavors, ever so incrementally, to understand some deeper human truths.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
6 June 2025
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Unless stopped, Trump and the Republicans who follow him may go down as the most merciless and morally bankrupt leaders this country has ever produced.—
Tom Debley,
Mercury News,
4 June 2025
Adjective
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Then, the men had to walk around as these unfeeling, aggressive, hyper-masculine creatures.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
EW.com,
28 May 2025
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Tabo turns, in his mother’s eyes, into a cold and unfeeling stone.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Sifting through the stony soil of southern Sweden, archaeologists uncovered dozens of Viking-era structures and hundreds of artifacts.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
30 May 2025
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Her stony expression at this news indicates that Peter should maybe sleep with one eye open.—
Caroline Framke,
Vulture,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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Tech leaders’ muffled responses, even as Trump unleashes senseless attacks, will drive promising students to other countries and erode their industry’s contributions to our state and national economy.—
Bruce Fuller,
Mercury News,
7 June 2025
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Tolstoy hoped those heroic fictions, designed to inspire young men to pursue senseless deaths, would be undone as war began to disturb peace.—
Casey Cep,
New Yorker,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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The Manchester-by-the-Sea health board has thumbed its nose at voters with callous indifference.—
Peter Brennan,
Boston Herald,
26 May 2025
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Rick Scott and Ashley Moody, your votes in the coming days will decide whether Florida chooses compassion and common sense — or callous disregard.—
Joseph MacBeth,
Sun Sentinel,
21 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Insensate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insensate. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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