Word: insensible (adjective)

Associations

The word "insensible" means not able to feel or notice something. It often describes someone who is unconscious or unaware of what is happening around them. It can also mean not sensitive to feelings or emotions.

• He was insensible after the accident. (He was unconscious and did not feel pain.)
• She was insensible to the cold because she was very tired. (She did not notice the cold.)
• The manager was insensible to the employees' complaints. (He did not care or notice their feelings.)

A similar word is "unconscious," but "insensible" can also mean not aware emotionally, while "unconscious" usually refers only to physical state.

Substitution

You can replace "insensible" with:

• unconscious (when talking about not awake or aware physically)
• unaware (when talking about not knowing or noticing something)
• insensitive (when talking about not caring about feelings)

Each substitute changes the meaning slightly:

• "Unconscious" is more about being physically out of awareness.
• "Unaware" is about not knowing or noticing.
• "Insensitive" is about not caring or understanding feelings.

Deconstruction

• Prefix: "in-" means "not."
• Root: "sensible" means "able to feel or perceive." So, "insensible" literally means "not able to feel or perceive."

The word comes from Latin "insensibilis," combining "in-" (not) + "sensibilis" (sensible, able to feel).

Inquiry

• Can you think of a time when someone was insensible to pain or emotion?
• How does being insensible differ from being unconscious or asleep?
• Have you ever felt insensible to something around you, like noise or cold? What was the situation?