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
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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
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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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That’s why horror movies often have these inanimate emblems that are so terrifying.—
Brian Davids,
The Hollywood Reporter,
21 Feb. 2025
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Celebrate by having a relaxing bath with your favorite inanimate waterfowl.—
Rosalind Bowling,
The Tennessean,
20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The alleged victim was reportedly knocked unconscious from the blow and hospitalized with a skull fracture and brain bleeding.—
Ryan Morik,
Fox News,
22 Mar. 2025
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Stress, previous surgeries, traumatic experiences or even unconscious muscle tensing can also contribute to this pain.—
Julianna Bragg,
CNN,
22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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His is a sort of erudite buffoonery that consistently tap-dances between clever, self-aware, and patently stupid.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2025
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Ignoring those who served and buried honorably is stupid.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Mar. 2025
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.—
Matthew Ponsford,
WIRED,
19 Sep. 2024
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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.—
Lauren Gill,
ProPublica,
29 Apr. 2023
Adjective
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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.—
Louise Glück,
The New York Review of Books,
14 Jan. 2021
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Memory, conveyed by an unperceptive, mechanically flowing camera, seems disconnected from culture.—
Armond White,
National Review,
19 Nov. 2021
Adjective
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Betting against Crosby to make it back seems unwise.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
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Operating a business without a firewall or two-factor authentication to protect digital assets is simply unwise.—
Hod Fleishman,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Ratajkowski has been fighting the stereotype of the dumb model from the beginning of her career.—
Daniel Jackson,
Allure,
18 July 2017
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Ninety nine percent of all NFL players are explicitly not dumb.—
Andy Benoit,
The MMQB,
10 July 2017
Adjective
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Moments that may seem silly or insignificant to others — like sharing a particular greeting, teasing each other in a familiar way or even speaking to each other in silly, baby-ish voices — can be great sources of comfort and familiarity for partners.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
29 Mar. 2025
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The industry has seen its fair share of terrible ideas, from the downright bizarre to the silly.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Insentient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insentient. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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