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insensate

 - 4 dictionary results

in⋅sen⋅sate

  [in-sen-seyt, -sit]
–adjective
1. not endowed with sensation; inanimate: insensate stone.
2. without human feeling or sensitivity; cold; cruel; brutal.
3. without sense, understanding, or judgment; foolish.
Use insensate in a Sentence
Origin:
1510–20; < LL insēnsātus irrational. See in- 3 , sensate

Related forms:
in⋅sen⋅sate⋅ly, adverb
in⋅sen⋅sate⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. lifeless, inorganic. 2. insensible. 3. stupid, irrational, senseless, witless, dumb.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To insensate
in·sen·sate   (ĭn-sěn'sāt', -sĭt)   
adj.  

    1. Lacking sensation or awareness; inanimate.

    2. Unconscious.

    3. Lacking sense or the power to reason.

    4. Foolish; witless.

  2. Lacking sensibility; unfeeling: "a predatory, insensate society in which innocence and decency can prove fatal" (Peter S. Prescott).

    1. Lacking sense or the power to reason.

    2. Foolish; witless.


[Latin īnsēnsātus : in-, not; see in-1 + sēnsus, understanding, reason; see sense.]
in·sen'sate'ly adv., in·sen'sate'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

insensate 
1519, from L.L. insensatus "irrational, foolish," from L. in- "not" + sensatus "gifted with sense." Insensate means "not capable of feeling sensation," often "inanimate;" insensible means "lacking the power to feel with the senses," hence, often, "unconscious;" insensitive (1610), from M.L. sensitivus, means "having little or no reaction to what is perceived by one's senses," often "tactless."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: in·sen·sate
Pronunciation: (')in-'sen-"sAt, -s&t
Function: adjective
: devoid of sensation or feeling insensate foot>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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