Insensible
/ɪnˈsɛn.sə.bəl/
adjectiveC2
Definition
Insensible describes a state where a person or thing does not feel or react to sensations, emotions, or events. This can mean physically not feeling pain or touch, or mentally not understanding or noticing something. Sometimes, it also means unconscious or fainted.
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See It in Action
Not able to feel physical sensations or pain
- •After the accident, he was insensible to pain and did not react.
- •The cold made her fingers insensible and numb.
- •The patient was insensible after the surgery and needed time to wake up.
Unconscious or fainted; not aware of surroundings
- •She was found insensible on the floor and taken to the hospital.
- •The boxer was insensible after the knockout.
- •He became insensible from the heat and had to rest.
Not aware or not noticing something (less common, more formal)
- •He was insensible to the danger around him.
- •The child was insensible of the risks and kept playing near the street.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "insensible" like "not feeling" (A1 phrase), but stronger—it means completely without feeling or awareness.
- ✓Picture someone who has fainted and does not respond to sounds or touch around them.
- ✓It's the feeling when you are so shocked or hurt that you do not notice anything else.
- ✓Sounds like "in-SENSE-ible" → imagine losing all your senses and not noticing anything around you.
- ✓Think of a story where a character is knocked out and cannot feel pain or see what is happening.
- ✓NOT like "numb" (which can mean a small or partial loss of feeling), insensible means no feeling at all or unconscious.
- ✓NOT like "unaware" (which means not knowing), insensible means not able to feel or respond even if you want to.
- ✓NOT like "insensitive" (which means not caring about others), insensible is about not feeling or noticing physically or mentally.
Try Other Words
- •Unconscious: not awake or aware (Use when talking about someone who has fainted or lost consciousness)
- •Numb: without feeling in a part of the body (Use when feeling is reduced but not always completely gone)
- •Unaware: not knowing about something (Use when someone does not have information or knowledge)
- •Insensitive: not caring about others' feelings (Use when meaning is about emotions, not physical feeling)
Unboxing
- •Prefix: "in-" meaning "not" or "without"
- •Root: "sensible" from Latin "sensibilis," meaning "able to feel or perceive"
- •Etymology: From Latin "insensibilis," meaning "not able to feel"
- •Historical development: Used since the 15th century to describe lack of physical or mental sensation
- •Modern usage: Used mainly in formal or medical contexts to describe lack of feeling, unconsciousness, or lack of awareness
Reflect & Connect
•Can someone be emotionally insensible but physically sensitive? How would you explain that difference?
•How does being insensible affect a person's ability to react to danger or danger signals?
Fill in the blanks
1.After the injury, the patient was ___ to pain and did not cry or move.
2.When someone is ___, they do not respond to voices or touch around them.
3.Unlike being just tired, being ___ means you cannot feel or notice anything.
4.The cold weather made his hands ___, losing all feeling and ___ to touch.
5.She was ___ of the risks because she did not understand the situation.
6.The boxer was ___ after the hit and needed medical help to regain ___.
7.Being ___ can be dangerous because the person cannot ___ what is happening nearby.