'insensitively-expressed' originates from modern English, formed by combining the adverb 'insensitively' (from 'insensitive,' ultimately from Latin 'in-' meaning 'not' and 'sentire' meaning 'to feel') with the past participle 'expressed' (from Latin 'expressus,' from 'ex-' meaning 'out' and 'premere' meaning 'to press').

'insensitively expressed' appeared as a free collocation in English and, in attributive use before a noun, was often hyphenated as 'insensitively-expressed,' which remains a stylistic, modern English compound.

Initially, it simply combined the manner adverb 'insensitively' with 'expressed'; its current use focuses on judgments about tone and tact in wording.