adjective
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of or relating to the senses or the power of sensation
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of or relating to those processes and structures within an organism that receive stimuli from the environment and convey them to the brain
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sensory
Explanation
The adjective sensory describes something relating to sensation — something that you feel with your physical senses. Sticking a knife into a toaster will give you a sensory experience, but so will smelling a rose. Stick with the rose. Sensory comes from the Latin word sentire, meaning "to perceive, feel." Sampling your mom's blueberry pie is a sensory experience — you can smell it, you can taste it, and the crust has a really good texture. You may get sensory overload when you're in New York City because there's so much for your senses to take in. Sensory can also describe a nerve fiber, such as a sensory neuron, that carries impulses to the nerve centers in your body.
Vocabulary lists containing sensory
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 4
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ACT Vocabulary List
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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.
The community believed that they "experienced genuine, sometimes painful and traumatic, physical symptoms and sensory phenomena and honestly and sincerely reported those events as possible anomalous health incidents".
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Instead, the most noticeable changes occurred in brain networks responsible for directing attention and responding to sensory information.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
Many of Mr. Coppola’s recollections are sensory: roasted peppers, his grandma’s sizzling meatballs, a neighbor’s homemade wine sweetened with peaches—“smells and tastes that intoxicate me to this day.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
They said they put in place "dedicated sensory calm spaces, a quiet campsite, welfare facilities and specialist wellbeing support".
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
These areas integrate your sensory input and muscle actions so you keep oriented in space and in motion.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
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.
