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⇱ insensibility - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

insensibility

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ɪnˌsensəˈbɪlɪtɪ/US:USA pronunciation: IPAUSA pronunciation: IPA/ɪnˌsɛnsəˈbɪlɪti/


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
in•sen•si•ble /ɪnˈsɛnsəbəl/USA pronunciation   adj. [not: be + ~]
  1. incapable of feeling; unconscious:rendered insensible before the operation.
  2. without a particular feeling or sensation:insensible to shame.
  3. unaware;
    not appreciative:The family was not insensible of your kindness.
in•sen•si•bil•i•ty /ɪnˌsɛnsəˈbɪlɪti/USA pronunciation  n. [uncountable]
in•sen•si•bly, adv. See -sens-.
    In many cases, pairs of words with the same root and the prefix[in-]in one of them are opposite in meaning. However, the words sensible and insensible are not opposites for all the meanings of the root, -sens-. Thus, one of the meanings of sensible is "showing good sense or judgment; wise; not foolish.'' But insensible cannot be used for the opposite of that meaning.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
in•sen•si•ble  (in sen′sə bəl),USA pronunciation adj. 
  1. incapable of feeling or perceiving;
    deprived of sensation;
    unconscious, as a person after a violent blow.
  2. without or not subject to a particular feeling or sensation:insensible to shame; insensible to the cold.
  3. unaware;
    unconscious;
    inappreciative:We are not insensible of your kindness.
  4. not perceptible by the senses;
    imperceptible:insensible transitions.
  5. unresponsive in feeling.
  6. not susceptible of emotion or passion;
    void of any feeling.
  7. not endowed with feeling or sensation, as matter;
    inanimate.
  • Latin insēnsibilis. See in-3, sensible
  • Middle English 1350–1400
in•sen′si•bly, adv. 
in•sen′si•bil′i•ty, n. 
    5. 6. apathetic, unfeeling, indifferent, cool; dull, passionless, emotionless, torpid.
'insensibility' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
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