sense

[ sens ]

/ sɛns /

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See synonyms for: sense / sensed / senses / sensing on Thesaurus.com

noun

any of the faculties, as sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch, by which humans and animals perceive stimuli originating from outside or inside the body: My sense of smell tells me that dinner is ready.

these faculties collectively.

their operation or function; sensation.

a feeling or perception produced through the organs of touch, taste, etc., or resulting from a particular condition of some part of the body: to have a sense of cold.

a faculty or function of the mind analogous to sensation: the moral sense.

any special capacity for perception, estimation, appreciation, etc.: a sense of humor.

Usually senses . clear and sound mental faculties; sanity: Have you taken leave of your senses?

a more or less vague perception or impression: a sense of security.

a mental discernment, realization, or recognition; acuteness: a just sense of the worth of a thing.

the recognition of something as incumbent or fitting: a sense of duty.

sound practical intelligence: He has no sense.

something that is sensible or reasonable: Try to talk sense instead of shouting.

the meaning or gist of something: You missed the sense of his statement.

the value or worth of something; merit: There's no sense in worrying about the past.

the meaning of a word or phrase in a specific context, especially as isolated in a dictionary or glossary; the semantic element in a word or group of words.

an opinion or judgment formed or held, especially by an assemblage or body of persons: the sense of a meeting.

Genetics. a DNA sequence that is capable of coding for an amino acid (distinguished from nonsense).

Mathematics. one of two opposite directions in which a vector may point.

verb (used with object), sensed, sens·ing.

to perceive (something) by the senses; become aware of.

to grasp the meaning of; understand.

(of certain mechanical devices) to detect physical phenomena, as light, temperature, radioactivity, etc., mechanically, electrically, or photoelectrically.

Computers. to read (punched holes, tape, data, etc.) mechanically, electrically, or photoelectrically.

SYNONYMS FOR sense

5 awareness, apprehension.

7 rationality.

9 estimation, appreciation.

13 signification, import, denotation, connotation, interpretation.

16 feeling, sentiment.

19 discern, appreciate, recognize.

See synonyms for sense on Thesaurus.com

QUIZZES

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Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between it’s and its in this crafty quiz!

Question 1 of 12

On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.

it's

its

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Idioms for sense

come to one's senses, to regain one's good judgment or realistic point of view; become reasonable.

in a sense, according to one explanation or view; to a certain extent: In a sense it may have been the only possible solution.

make sense, to be reasonable or comprehensible: His attitude doesn't make sense.

Origin of sense

First recorded in 1350–1400; (noun) Middle English, from Middle French sens, from Latin sēnsus “sensation, feeling, understanding,” equivalent to sent(īre) “to feel” + -sus, a variant of -tus, suffix of verbal action; (verb) derivative of the noun

synonym study for sense

4. Sense, sensation refer to consciousness of stimulus or of a perception as pleasant or unpleasant. A sense is an awareness or recognition of something; the stimulus may be subjective and the entire process may be mental or intellectual: a sense of failure. A sensation is an impression derived from an objective (external) stimulus through any of the sense organs: a sensation of heat. It is also a general, indefinite physical or emotional feeling: a sensation of weariness. 13. See meaning.

OTHER WORDS FROM sense

half-sensed, adjectiveun·sensed, adjectiveun·sens·ing, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH sense

cents, scents, sense

Words nearby sense

sensation, sensational, sensationalism, sensationalize, sensationism, sense, Sense and Sensibility, sense datum, senseful, sensei, senseless

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for sense

In the absence of any competitions on the horizon, I just didn’t see how it made any sense to practice.
School Sports Became ‘Clubs’ Amid the Pandemic – Now Two Coaches Are Out|Ashly McGlone|September 17, 2020|Voice of San Diego
While I call these outlooks “depressed,” I mean it only in an economic sense.
There’s growing consensus that oil demand won’t make a comeback|eamonbarrett|September 17, 2020|Fortune
Mixing flashy sexual parts and super-simple other parts makes sense for the plant kingdom’s extreme parasites.
‘Vampire’ parasite challenges the definition of a plant|Susan Milius|September 16, 2020|Science News For Students
This makes sense — our previous research shows that playoff experience matters a lot in the NBA.
The Miami Heat Act Like They’ve Been Here Before. They (Mostly) Haven’t.|Andres Waters|September 15, 2020|FiveThirtyEight

In the future, Microsoft reckons it could make sense to co-locate such underwater data centers with offshore wind farms.
Microsoft hails success of its undersea data center experiment—and says it could have implications on dry land, too|David Meyer|September 15, 2020|Fortune
But give the Kingdom credit for its sense of mercy: The lashes will be administered only 50 at a time.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It may be fun and it may get them paid, until oversaturation ruins our sense for irony and destroys the market for it.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Other major news outlets made the same decision, hiding behind a misplaced sense of multicultural sensitivity.
Why We Stand With Charlie Hebdo—And You Should Too|John Avlon|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And extortion makes a lot more sense before a story hits the news wire, not after.
Phylicia Rashad and the Cult of Cosby Truthers|Stereo Williams|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Because they stopped and I thought, “OK, that makes sense,” and then all of a sudden I saw another issue!
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A constant sense of easy balance should be developed through poising exercises.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
There is, perhaps, in this childish suffering often something more than the sense of being homeless and outcast.
Children's Ways|James Sully
In one sense, then, the new issue has adequate expansibility for ordinary needs.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
That is the only point in which one sees Liszt's sense of his own greatness; otherwise his manner is remarkably unassuming.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
In the close relation and affection of these last days, the sense of alienation and antagonism faded from both their hearts.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson

British Dictionary definitions for sense

sense

/ (sɛns) /

noun

any of the faculties by which the mind receives information about the external world or about the state of the body. In addition to the five traditional faculties of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, the term includes the means by which bodily position, temperature, pain, balance, etc, are perceived

such faculties collectively; the ability to perceive

a feeling perceived through one of the sensesa sense of warmth

a mental perception or awarenessa sense of happiness

moral discernment; understandinga sense of right and wrong

(sometimes plural) sound practical judgment or intelligencehe is a man without any sense

reason or purposewhat is the sense of going out in the rain?

substance or gist; meaningwhat is the sense of this proverb?

specific meaning; definitionin what sense are you using the word?

an opinion or consensus

maths one of two opposite directions measured on a directed line; the sign as contrasted with the magnitude of a vector

logic linguistics

the import of an expression as contrasted with its referent. Thus the morning star and the evening star have the same reference, Venus, but different senses
the property of an expression by virtue of which its referent is determined
that which one grasps in understanding an expression

make sense to be reasonable or understandable

take leave of one's senses See leave 2 (def. 8)

verb (tr)

to perceive through one or more of the senses

to apprehend or detect without or in advance of the evidence of the senses

to understand

computing

to test or locate the position of (a part of computer hardware)
to read (data)

Word Origin for sense

C14: from Latin sēnsus, from sentīre to feel

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for sense

sense

[ sĕns ]

n.

Any of the faculties by which stimuli from outside or inside the body are received and felt, as the faculties of hearing, sight, smell, touch, taste, and equilibrium.

A perception or feeling that is produced by a stimulus; sensation, as of hunger.

v.

To become aware of; perceive.

Idioms and Phrases with sense

sense

see come to one's senses; horse sense; in a sense; lull into (a false sense of security); make sense; sixth sense; take leave of (one's senses); talk sense.

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sense

noun

verb (used with object), sensed, sens·ing.

SYNONYMS FOR sense