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as in unconscious
having lost consciousness if a choking person is insensible, you should lay them down on their back before performing the Heimlich maneuver

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as in insensate
lacking animate awareness or sensation even the canyon's insensible rocks seemed to mock the stranded climber's utter helplessness

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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 insensible The ‘real’ Camille, meanwhile, has become an insensible, comatose carcass, although no one seems to notice. Damon Wise, Deadline, 24 Jan. 2025 Foreman tumbled downward in a dizzy, slow-motion-like crash, full-weight, a helpless giant, insensible. Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone, 17 Jan. 2025 Or lobbyists can sometimes intervene and gain insensible exemptions from bans. IEEE Spectrum, 10 Feb. 2024 But the Cylinder Sling by Building Block flirts with such attitude without becoming rude or insensible. Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2022 The novel positions him as insensible to agendas, hopelessly subject to the whims of the altruistic and the cruel. Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2022 Armando Iannucci’s brilliant 2017 farce, The Death of Stalin, explores that question on a literal plane, with Stalin’s deputies frantically maneuvering for position while Stalin, not yet entirely dead, lies insensible and unattended on the floor. Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 22 Apr. 2022 Combat troops get inured to death, but Yaroslav’s comrades seemed to me beyond inured, insensible. New York Times, 16 Jan. 2022 Being sick also can lead to insensible fluid loss, such as sweating from fever or blowing your nose, Rosner says, while vomiting or diarrhea can exacerbate fluid loss. Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insensible
Adjective
  • His head collided with the knee of White Sox second baseman, Al Weiss, and he was knocked unconscious.
    Raymond Daniel Burke, Baltimore Sun, 29 Mar. 2025
  • Francis had ruled out intubation, which would mean being kept unconscious, the leader of the medical team, Dr. Sergio Alfieri, said in an interview.
    Jason Horowitz, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • And because more than 80% of disabilities are invisible, most aren’t likely to be believed.
    N. Goldberg, New York Daily News, 9 Apr. 2025
  • All of this stems from a toxic and mostly invisible danger, largely the product of burning things for fuel and letting the remnant drift into the air and then into us—which is what happens unless the government regulates that process.
    Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The nonchalant nature of the talking stage can also shield individuals from rejection.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Among the many characters in the mural are: a gray cat perched in a tree; a white-and-black dog digging excitedly in the grass; a nonchalant orange cat lounging without a care; a dachshund mid-chase after a ball; and a black cat leaping into the air, back arched in dramatic flair.
    Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
Adjective
  • The childish use of vulgar profanity simply leads peoople to view the speaker as being unable to express his/her view.
    Letters to the editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Along with receiving vulgar comments in person and people taking her picture on campus, the 18-year-old has received vile and sexist messages after her phone number was posted online.
    David Chiu, People.com, 1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Related Stories Whoever says this is unskilled work is either ignorant or lying.
    Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Beth and her husband Frank’s willfully ignorant marital bliss is upended when Beth’s brother-in-law shoots a dog that belongs to Gabriel, Beth’s teenage love.
    Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • This means breathing in a gentle imperceptible way.
    Joseph Sudhip, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
  • Progress has been measured in small, almost imperceptible victories.
    Elizabeth Austin, Time, 26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Pair it with sandals and sneakers for a casual outing, or zhuzh it up with wedges or flats for a more formal occasion.
    Clara McMahon, People.com, 9 Apr. 2025
  • As dating moves from casual texts to deeper emotional investment, people begin to ask themselves important internal questions, often without realizing it.
    Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Insensible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insensible. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

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