sixth sense

noun

1. a power of perception beyond the five senses; intuition.

   His sixth sense warned him to be cautious.

sixth sense

noun

1. any supposed sense or means of perception, such as intuition or clairvoyance, other than the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell

Word History and Origins

Origin of sixth sense¹

First recorded in 1830–40

Idioms and Phrases

Keen intuition, as in She had a sixth sense that they would find it in the cellar. This term alludes to a sense in addition to the five physical senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. [c. 1800]

Example Sentences

Because interoceptive signals originate deep within the body and are often processed unconsciously, scientists often describe this system as our "hidden sixth sense."

Read more on Science Daily

It was when she started accurately rattling off my license and Visa card numbers that the phrase “sixth sense” came to my mind.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Well,” Squire said while everyone around him groaned, “I guess I have a sixth sense.”

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Milo says he and his colleagues have long believed that numbers can “provide a sixth sense of the world.”

Read more on Science Magazine

“Just by small little signals on their face they’re making. It just becomes like a sixth sense.”

Read more on New York Times

Related Words

• instinct