sensory

Also sen·so·ri·al

[sen-suh-ree]

adjective

1. of or relating to the senses or sensation.

2. Physiology.,  noting a structure for conveying an impulse that results or tends to result in sensation, as a nerve.

sensory

/ ˈsɛnsərɪ, sɛnˈsɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the senses or the power of sensation

2. of or relating to those processes and structures within an organism that receive stimuli from the environment and convey them to the brain

sensory

1. Involving the sense organs or the nerves that relay messages from them.

2. Compare motor

Other Word Forms

• intersensory adjective
• multisensory adjective
• nonsensorial adjective
• nonsensory adjective
• unsensory adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sensory¹

First recorded in 1620–30; sense + -ory ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of sensory¹

C18: from Latin sensōrius, from sentīre to feel

Example Sentences

Her fiction, so alive to sensory experience and the interior struggles of the mind and heart, helped extend the literary tradition of Virginia Woolf, a modernist whom Welty deeply admired.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The group, which described its latest offering as "a blend of technological form and sensory flavour", said the snack is a collaboration with 7-Eleven which began selling them in their convenience stores this week.

Read more on Barron's

What lingers in the mind is much simpler—small sensory cues that quietly tell your body, you’re welcome here.

Read more on Salon

These overstimulated immune cells then move toward the dorsal root ganglia -- the sensory nerve hubs that link the limbs to the spinal cord -- and release inflammatory compounds that irritate and damage nerves.

Read more on Science Daily

Promising ones go before what the company calls “sensory panels” of consumers to taste test.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• audiovisual 
• auditory 
• aural 
• neural 
• neurological 
• olfactory 
• sensual 
• sonic 
• tactile 
• visual