sensory receptor
1
5.8
- noun
- /ˈsɛn.sə.ri rɪˈkɛp.tər/
- Specialized
:
receptor sensorial
- Sensory receptors convert stimuli into nerve impulses.
Your entire experience of life is filtered by these, what we call sensory receptors, if you want to know what the name is.
- Your entire experience of life is filtered by these, what we call sensory receptors, if you want to know what the name is.
Examples
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Normally, sensory receptors on the mosquito's antennae are excited by the smell of a host and send this message of excitation to the brain, activating a searching pattern that will bring her closer to a victim.
Academic text (1992) -
The core functional properties of enzymes and sensory receptors, for example, are not the products of random drift.
Academic text (2010) -
Aside from sight, smell, touch, feel, and taste, we also have unique sensory receptors for things like ...
Blog text (13) -
Your entire experience of life is filtered by these, what we call sensory receptors, if you want to know what the name is.
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During egg development, however, a hormone makes the sensory receptors less sensitive to these stimuli.
Academic text (1992) -
Instead, they transfer compounds from their tongues into two elaborate sensory receptors known as the vomeronasal organs.
Academic text (2003) -
Studies should also be conducted in patients with neurologic, infectious, and neoplastic diseases that affect the entire sensory pathway, from the sensory receptor to the central nervous system.
Academic text (2003) -
I'm not interested in educating people on how the 20th-century economy impacted the structures of marriage, or on whether spinning in an office chair activates a different sensory receptor than getting a bear hug from an old friend.
Blog text (13) -
The "common currency" of the human nervous system, neuronal impulses, is initiated at the level of the distal sensory receptors when specific energy inputs are transduced into data flowing to the central centers for processing.
Blog text (21) -
The skin contains more than 4 million sensory receptors—mostly concentrated in the fingers, tongue, and lips—that gather information related to touch, pressure, temperature, and pain.
Synonyms
61
6.1
A part of the body like a cell that receives chemical or nerve signals and reacts
How Complex
- Specialized
81
2.8
- Specialized
24
3.2
- Specialized
1
3.8
1
3.5
- Specialized
1
5.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a receptor that responds to sensory stimuli' is directly and compositionally derived from 'sensory' (relating to the senses) + 'receptor' (a structure that responds to signals). Although somewhat technical, the compound follows straightforward semantic composition and equivalents exist in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would comprehend it.
Etymology
Sensory receptor is like a tiny 'receiver' in the skin, eye, or ear that notices touch, light, or sound and then sends a 'signal' to the brain. Think of sensory as 'sensing' and receptor as 'receiver', so the term means a small body part that notices something and tells the brain about the world.