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.

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Other Word Forms

• kinesthetically adverb

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.

Example Sentences

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

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

However, in the modern multimedia and kinesthetic world, the definition of literacy has been expanded to mean “competence in communication,” including a multitude of methods, modes, and texts.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

The mind is beset by light and space, the kinesthetic novelty of aridity, high temperature, and wind.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• bodily
• physical