different between insensible vs humdrum

English

Etymology

From Old French insensible, from Late Latin ?ns?nsibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?s?n.s?.bl?/
• Hyphenation: in?sen?si?ble

Adjective

insensible (comparative more insensible, superlative most insensible)

1. Unable to be perceived by the senses.
   • They fall away, / And languish with insensible decay.

2. Incapable or deprived of physical sensation.
3. Unable to be understood; unintelligible.
4. Not sensible or reasonable; meaningless.
   • 1736, Matthew Hale, Historia Placitorum Coronæ

     If it make the indictment be insensible or uncertain, […] it shall be quashed.

5. Incapable of mental feeling; indifferent.

   • Lost in their loves, insensible of shame.

   • 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Modern Library Edition (1995), page 138

     In spite of her deep-rooted dislike, she could not be insensible to the compliment of such a man's affection...

6. Incapable of emotional feeling; callous; apathetic.

   Synonym: insensitive

Antonyms

• sensible

Derived terms

• insensibility
• insensibly

Translations

French

Etymology

From Old French insensible, from Late Latin ?ns?nsibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.s??.sibl/
• Homophone: insensibles

Adjective

insensible (plural insensibles)

1. insensible
2. impervious

Further reading

• “insensible” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Spanish

Etymology

From Late Latin ?ns?nsibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /insen?sible/, [?n.s?n?si.??le]

Adjective

insensible (plural insensibles)

1. insensible, insensitive, callous, cold, tactless

   Antonym: sensible

Related terms

• insensibilidad (possibly derived)

Further reading

• “insensible” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

English

Etymology

Possible reduplication of hum, 1550s.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?h?md??m/

Adjective

humdrum (comparative more humdrum, superlative most humdrum)

1. Lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:boring

   • 1999, Lucy Honig, The Truly Needy And Other Stories, University of Pittsburgh Press (?ISBN), page 89:

     He suggested cusk, because he knew they would have it. She had never heard of cusk. “Doesn't it sound exotic!” she said. “Exotic indeed!” he laughed, and almost told her what a humdrum fish it really was, but stopped himself.

Translations

Noun

humdrum (countable and uncountable, plural humdrums)

1. (uncountable) The quality of lacking variety or excitement.

   Synonyms: dullness, monotony

   • 2010, Clare Vanderpool, Moon Over Manifest

     I think it helped distract us from the dry, humdrum, and heat of the here and now.

2. (countable, dated) A stupid fellow.
   • 1834, Elizabeth Frances Dagley, The Young Seer, Or Early Searches Into Futurity (page 103)

     So, after settling it that Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were complete country humdrums, the daughters hoydens, the sons awkward half-dandies, and the company altogether any thing but agreeable, she came to a conclusion she had done fifty times before, that the country was not like London.

Translations