sensation
Americannoun
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sensations
plural
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the operation or function of the senses; perception or awareness of stimuli through the senses.
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a mental condition or physical feeling resulting from stimulation of a sense organ or from internal bodily change, as cold or pain.
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Physiology. the faculty of perception of stimuli.
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a general feeling not directly attributable to any given stimulus, as discomfort, anxiety, or doubt.
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a mental feeling, especially a state of excited feeling.
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a state of excited feeling or interest caused among a number of persons or throughout a community, as by some rumor or occurrence.
- Synonyms:
- perturbation, commotion, agitation, animation, stimulation, excitement
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a cause of such feeling or interest.
The new Brazilian movie was the sensation of the film festival.
noun
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the power of perceiving through the senses
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a physical condition or experience resulting from the stimulation of one of the sense organs
a sensation of warmth
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a general feeling or awareness
a sensation of fear
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a state of widespread public excitement
his announcement caused a sensation
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anything that causes such a state
your speech was a sensation
Synonym Usage
See sense.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sensation
First recorded in 1605–15; from Medieval Latin sēnsātiōn- (stem of sēnsātiō ), equivalent to Late Latin sēnsāt(us) sensate + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
A sensation is a type of feeling, picked up by one of the five senses. Peppercorns will give you the sensation of a million tiny pinpricks on your tongue. A sensation is something from your senses. If you lose sensation in your feet, they are numb and it's time for you to get up and move around to restore blood flow. You can call something a sensation if it is wonderful and astonishing. Your parents will tell you that you were a sensation in the school play. Everyone will want to go see the special-effects movie that critics are calling a worldwide sensation.
Vocabulary lists containing sensation
Wonder Woman's Superpower Words
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Common Senses: Sent, Sens ("Feel")
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The Cay
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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.
See Examples For:
Winfrey’s talk show launched in 1986 and became a sensation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
V, a member of pop sensation BTS, says he has been receiving treatment for hearing loss in one ear, an announcement that comes midway through the band's highly-anticipated world tour.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
His meteoric rise from a relative political unknown to the winner of last year’s mayoral race turned him into an international sensation, Polanco said, but his résumé was thin before taking office.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
American football star Travis Kelce described on Wednesday his secretive early July wedding to pop sensation Taylor Swift as "the best night of my life."
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
As the men’s feet dried and the blood began to circulate, they all had the sensation of burning.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
They were called the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh", and sold an estimated 120–300 million records worldwide, making them one of the best selling musical acts of all time globally.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
As Maxine, an American director who’s traveled to Paris to complete a short film that will play before a high-concept fashion show in the coming days, Jolie elegantly moves between these two sensations.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026
Jackie and Shadow became internet sensations thanks to the live webcams maintained in their nest by nonprofit organization Friends of Big Bear Valley, which is an outspoken voice for conserving eagle habitat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
New research suggests that regions involved in processing sound and physical sensations play a much larger role in speech learning and memory.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
American physicists emerged from the war torn between two contradictory sensations.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
