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Synonyms

kinesthetic

American  
[kin-uhs-thet-ik] / ˌkɪn əsˈθɛt ɪk /
especially British, kinaesthetic

adjective

  1. Psychology, Physiology. having to do with movement or sensation, especially within the body.

    One quintessential spa experience was to go back and forth from the scalding hot pool to the ice cold pool, sending your body into a heightened kinesthetic state.

  2. needing to move.

    Some teachers feel that their most energetic and distractible students are actually kinesthetic learners, who need to get their whole body involved in the learning process.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of kinesthetic

First recorded in 1890–95 as kinæsthetic; kinesthe(sia) ( def. ) + -tic ( def. )

Explanation

If you're a wild dancer, you probably enjoy kinesthetic thrills: thrills having to do with the experience of movement. The adjective kinesthetic comes from the noun kinesthesia, which means the sensory perception of movement. Kinesthesia happens when the brain gets feedback from muscles and ligaments about how the body is moving. Dancing is a kinesthetic art form. If you're interested in kinesthetic questions, you might consider going into physical therapy as a career.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing kinesthetic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

According to popular educational theory, some kids are what educators call tactile learners; they do especially well with a kinesthetic instruction that involves actively doing over passively absorbing.

From Seattle Times Oct. 13, 2023

That's what we did with the cinematography in those moments and with the editing and Florence's amazing performance was try to just give the audience a real kinesthetic experience of what it's like.

From Salon Mar. 30, 2023

I was much more kinesthetic, much more into dance.

From Washington Post Oct. 14, 2022

Everett Jones, the reviews editor at Publishers Weekly, recalled “Reconcilable Differences: Connecting in Disconnected World,” out last June, whose authors rated people according to their communication styles, which they described as visual, auditory or kinesthetic.

From New York Times Oct. 7, 2017

Music should be taught through the tactile, kinesthetic, aural, and visual senses.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

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