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sense

sense

537 1.8
A physical ability to notice the world using sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch
  • noun
  • /sɛns/
translation icon : sentido
  • Her sense of smell was so strong that she could detect fresh bread from blocks away.
  • five senses
  • sense of smell
  • sense organs

Because we're raised on our physical senses, we grow up

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Examples

  • A delight to the senses, isn't it, my friend?

  • But smell is clearly the best sense that a person has.

  • When they contract, they make your sense of hearing less sensitive.

  • Learning is enhanced when students use a combination of senses, such as sight and hearing.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Your space flight's gonna be a brutal assault on your senses.

  • In Papua New Guinea, attempts to construct a sense of nationhood have met numerous obstacles.

    Academic text (1999)
  • In this re-creation of an ostensibly sensual experience, sense impressions are rendered with great precision.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The sense of touch allows us to feel different temperatures and textures.

  • Animals rely on their senses to navigate their environments and find food.

Synonyms

sensitivity
vssense
  • Specialized
15 4.2

The body's ability to feel things like touch or light

refers to the basic bodily faculty of perceiving stimuli, not the reaction strength
sensibility
vssense
8 6.6

Ability to feel physical things like touch or pain

focuses on the bodily perceiving faculty rather than on the response itself
sensory faculty
vssense
5.6

An ability to see, hear, or feel the world

is the general bodily faculty for perceiving external stimuli rather than naming parts
sence
vssense
  • Informal
9.9

The ability to notice, understand, and judge things

is the standard bodily perception faculty limited to detecting external stimuli

Idioms

Completely true in every possible way or meaning

To say that two people have had sex in a polite or joking way

Compounds

421 3.1

To see and enjoy what is funny and sometimes make others laugh

244 1.8

The ability to make good decisions in everyday life

53 3.6

The ability to make sensible decisions in everyday life

The ability to notice and tell scents apart with the nose

Feeling that you belong and are close to other people in a group

A feeling of having a clear aim in life or work that gives you motivation

Feeling that you must do something or look after someone

17 7.6

A natural feeling that tells you things without using sight, hearing, touch, smell, or taste

Knowing where you are and finding your way without a map

13 3.7

Knowing what clothes look good and how to wear them

A proud, satisfied feeling you get after finishing something difficult

A way of dressing and looking that is attractive and shows your taste

11 3.8

A feeling that you must do what is right for others

A deep calm and quiet feeling inside that makes you feel relaxed

An understanding of what is right and wrong that guides a person's actions

A feeling of guilt that makes you try not to do something wrong

The ability to keep your body steady so you do not fall

The ability to feel things through the skin

4 4.6

A feeling that helps you know right from wrong and do the right thing

A feeling that you have already lived through the present moment

Ability to notice sweet, sour, bitter and salty flavors in your mouth

The ability to hear sounds

spider sense
  • Informal
2 8.7

A strong feeling that warns you of danger before you see it

horse sense
  • Informal
1 4.8

Being able to make good practical decisions in everyday life

sense datum
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A simple immediate experience from seeing, hearing, or touching before the mind interprets it

1 3.5

An organ with nerves that detects light, sound, touch, taste or smell

auditory sense
  • Specialized
1 3.7

To hear sounds with your ears

sense modality
  • Specialized
1 5.5

A way the body notices things, such as sight or hearing

Skill in making things well, often by hand and with care

sense of movement
  • Specialized
1 6.0

The feeling of where and how your arms or legs move

1 3.2

Being able to see with your eyes

A playful, slightly odd way of making jokes that surprises people

labyrinthine sense
  • Specialized
9.9

A sense that tells you where your head is and how it moves from the inner ear

A way of being funny that is strange and silly

muscle sense
  • Specialized
6.3

Ability to feel where your body parts are and how they move without looking

Knowing how to notice and avoid danger on the road

A strong feeling of relief that you can almost feel physically

A simple feeling you get from touch, sight, hearing, taste or smell

A quick feeling from sight, sound, touch, taste or smell

A strong feeling of shame and deep disappointment

sense of equilibrium
  • Specialized
6.0

Parts of the inner ear that tell you your head position and keep you balanced

8.1

A feeling that something is not real or natural

A feeling of not being hungry after eating that makes you not want more food

A strong feeling of complete peace and happiness

An agreement by the people in a meeting without a formal vote

A strong feeling that something connects with your own life or feelings

9.9

A bitter feeling of regret after disappointment

sense organ
  • Specialized
4.8

A sensor on a machine that detects light, sound, distance or temperature

sense tagger
  • Specialized
6.9

A computer program that labels words in text with their meaning

somatic sense
  • Specialized
8.6

The ability to feel touch, pain, temperature, body position, and internal organs

vestibular sense
  • Specialized
8.2

Parts of the inner ear that tell your body about balance and movement

word sense
  • Specialized
5.5

One meaning of a word in a certain context

How Sensitive

acuteness
6.5
sense
537 1.8
sensibility
8 6.6

Surface Forms

sense singular
senses plural

Etymology

The word sense comes from the Latin sentire, which means 'to feel'. So a sense is a way the body 'feels' or notices the outside world, like sight or hearing.