sense

[ sens ]

/ sɛns /

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.

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

1350–1400; (noun) Middle English < Latin sēnsus sensation, feeling, understanding, equivalent to sent(īre) to feel + -tus suffix of v. action, with tt > s; (v.) derivative of the noun

SYNONYMS 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.

5 awareness, apprehension.

7 rationality.

9 estimation, appreciation.

13 signification, import, denotation, connotation, interpretation. See meaning.

16 feeling, sentiment.

19 discern, appreciate, recognize.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR sense ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM sense

half-sensed, adjective un·sensed, adjective un·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, sense of equilibrium, sense organ, sense perception

Example sentences from the Web for senses

Then, as I sat here on this “throne,” this beautiful choir struck my ears and senses.

Joseph Campbell on the Roots of Halloween |Joseph Campbell |October 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
After a few minutes, I came to my senses enough to see an angry mob standing on the railway platform.

As 30-Year Anniversary of Mass Killings in India Arrives, Sikhs Find Safety in USA |Simran Jeet Singh |October 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Sachs adds, “All the senses that connect us with nature are important.”

Magical Gardens for the Blind, Deaf, and Disabled |Elizabeth Picciuto |October 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The sexual acts are mysterious, unpredictable, and passionate; they tease your senses.

What Porn Stars Find Sexy on TV: From ‘Game of Thrones’ to ‘Deadliest Catch’ |Aurora Snow |September 20, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

But you cannot deny that when you go you are experiencing the show through all of your senses.

DJ Steve Aoki: To Cake or Not To Cake |Steve Aoki |August 8, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The senses are the only channels to the external world which we possess, and love must come through these channels or not at all.

Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 6 (of 6) |Havelock Ellis
Faith indeed tells what the senses do not tell, but not the contrary of what they see.

Pascal's Penses |Blaise Pascal
When he regained his senses he was no longer blindfold but lay on cushions in a huge twilit grotto.

The Death of the Gods |Dmitri Mrejkowski
I judge that my swoon lasted four hours, and when I came to my senses I found myself in this horrible position.

The Red True Story Book |Various
I listened, half disillusioned by his explanation, yet fearing that my senses were too slavishly obeying his suggestion.

The Strolling Saint |Raphael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for senses

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 senses a sense of warmth

a mental perception or awareness a sense of happiness

moral discernment; understanding a sense of right and wrong

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

reason or purpose what is the sense of going out in the rain?

substance or gist; meaning what is the sense of this proverb?

specific meaning; definition in 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

Medical definitions for senses

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 senses

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.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

sense

noun

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

Idioms for sense

Origin of sense

SYNONYMS FOR sense

OTHER WORDS FROM sense

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH sense

Words nearby sense

Example sentences from the Web for senses

British Dictionary definitions for senses

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for sense

Medical definitions for senses

n.

v.

Idioms and Phrases with senses

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

sense

noun

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

Idioms for sense

Origin of sense

SYNONYMS FOR sense

OTHER WORDS FROM sense

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH sense

Words nearby sense

Words related to senses

Example sentences from the Web for senses

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for senses

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for sense

Medical definitions for senses

n.

v.

Idioms and Phrases with senses

British Dictionary definitions for senses