kinesthetic
Americanadjective
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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.
-
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.
Vocabulary lists containing kinesthetic
Imagery, Figures of Speech, and Tone
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Dance - Middle School and High School
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Warrior Girl Unearthed
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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.
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
Because it requires a cognizance of the body’s position from head to toe, the exercise helps to develop something called kinesthetic awareness — an understanding of how one’s body moves through space.
From New York Times ● May 18, 2022
The mind is beset by light and space, the kinesthetic novelty of aridity, high temperature, and wind.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
