Insensitive Meaning

/ɪnˈsɛnsɪtɪv/
B2

Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Listen pronunciation

adjExpressing or feeling little or no concern, care, compassion, or consideration for the feelings, emotions, sentiments, or concerns of other people; inconsiderate or incompassionate.

adjNot expressing normal physical feeling.

I dislike Chris because he is very rude and insensitive.
Soles of the feet are insensitive to heat and cold.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
She made a rude comment about his weight, showing she was totally ____ to his feelings.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
His ____ comments about her weight really hurt her feelings and made her feel very unhappy.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English in- English sensitive English insensitive From in- + sensitive.

"It is something like the way dame Nature gathers round a foreign body an envelope of some insensitive tissue which can protect from evil that which it would otherwise harm by contact." — 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
She made a rude comment about his weight, showing she was totally ____ to his feelings.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
His ____ comments about her weight really hurt her feelings and made her feel very unhappy.

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