sentient

American  

[sen-shuhnt, ‐shee-uhnt, ‐tee-uhnt] / ˈsɛn ʃənt, ‐ʃi ənt, ‐ti ənt /

adjective

1. having the power of perception by the senses; conscious.

2. characterized by sensation and consciousness.

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noun

1. a person or thing that is sentient.

2. Archaic.  the conscious mind.

sentient British  

/ ˈsɛntɪənt /

adjective

1. having the power of sense perception or sensation; conscious

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noun

1. rare  a sentient person or thing

Other Word Forms

• nonsentient adjective
• nonsentiently adverb
• sentiently adverb
• unsentient adjective
• unsentiently adverb

Etymology

Origin of sentient

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin sentient-, stem of sentiēns “feeling,” present participle of sentīre “to feel” sense ( def. )

Example Sentences

On the second track, “Bumpy,” what sounds like a sonic rendering of an exploding box of crayons leads to a throbbing pulse that could be a sentient computer’s ticking heart.

From The Wall Street Journal

Pope Leo may therefore be understood as drawing a line against the proposition that AI is a sentient being deserving rights and bearing the Imago Dei, which is the source of rights.

From The Wall Street Journal

AI chatbots shouldn’t trick people into thinking they are having conversations with sentient beings, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

From a novel starring a sentient gale-force wind, on to a memoir from a leading African American writer, this month’s titles provide illumination as we lose daylight.

From Los Angeles Times

Kirsh wants to quickly disabuse her and the other Lost Boys of that idea, given his experience of being sentient property and, perhaps, his experience of typically being the smartest one in the room.

From Salon