sense
/sɛns
/noun
1A faculty by which the body perceives an external stimulus; one of the faculties of sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch: the bear has a keen sense of smell which enables it to hunt at dusk...
- Sensory evaluation is analysis of product attributes perceived by the human senses of smell, taste, touch, sight, and hearing.
- The wall will include different pieces of artwork to stimulate various senses including touch, smell, sight and sound.
- It is through our senses - sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch - that we perceive the world around us.
Synonyms
sensory faculty, feeling, sensation, perception;
sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, sixth sense
Zoology, dated sensibility
2A feeling that something is the case: she had the sense of being a political outsider you can improve your general health and sense of well-being...
- It suggests a sense of urgency and excitement, as do some of the hand-written articles in here.
- But mention the impending transfer deadline and the banalities are overwhelmed by his sense of urgency.
- There's a sense of urgency on every single point, on every shot, and it's an incredible challenge.
Synonyms
awareness, feeling, sensation, consciousness, perception, recognition
2.1A keen intuitive awareness of or sensitivity to the presence or importance of something: she had a fine sense of comic timing...
- She has stage presence and a keen sense of the absurd, particularly in the political realm.
- I therefore approach this case with a keen sense of its importance.
- We are looking for a reporter with a keen news sense and a strong awareness of the issues of importance to our readers.
Synonyms
appreciation, awareness, understanding, comprehension, discernment, acknowledgement
3 [mass noun] A sane and realistic attitude to situations and problems: he earned respect by the good sense he showed at meetings...
- The journalist claimed he was treated bluntly and said the staff attitude made no business sense and he could have been making a booking.
- They keep insisting every now and then that saner sense prevails, after all.
- I mean it would make as much sense, and realistically is a feeling I'm more familiar with.
Synonyms
wisdom, common sense, good sense, practicality, sagacity, sharpness, discernment, perception;
native wit, mother wit, wit, level-headedness, intelligence, cleverness, astuteness, shrewdness, judgement, soundness of judgement, understanding, reason, logic, brain, brains
informal gumption, nous, horse sense, savvy
British informal loaf, common
North American informal smarts
3.1A reasonable or comprehensible rationale: I can’t see the sense in leaving all the work to you...
- If we suffer for no reason, if we can find no sense, no reason to our suffering, it makes us crazy.
- If the reasons make no sense and are without foundation then I should so rule.
- Ethical living is promoted not because it makes rational sense, but because it offers a guide for personal behaviour.
Synonyms
purpose, point, reason, aim, object, motive, use, utility, value, advantage, benefit
4A way in which an expression or a situation can be interpreted; a meaning: it is not clear which sense of the word ‘characters’ is intended in this passage...
- So many people today, not least those who blog, claim to be cynics, yet are not, in the strictest sense of the word.
- By default, the relation is one of possession, in the strict sense of the word.
- We were in over our heads - in both senses of the expression.
Synonyms
meaning, definition, import, denotation, signification, significance, purport, implication, intention, nuance, drift, gist, thrust, tenor, burden, theme, message, essence, spirit, substance
5chiefly Mathematics & Physics A property (e.g. direction of motion) distinguishing a pair of objects, quantities, effects, etc. which differ only in that each is the reverse of the other: the cord does not become straight, but forms a length of helix in the opposite sense
5.1 [as modifier] Genetics Relating to or denoting a coding sequence of nucleotides, complementary to an antisense sequence.Polar mutations change a sense codon for a specific amino acid within a gene into a nonsense or translational termination codon.
verb [with object]
1Perceive by a sense or senses: with the first frost, they could sense a change in the days...
- I sensed Jon noticed I wasn't happy about the mention of Michael.
- Concentrations of some compounds of one part per 10,000 can be sensed, recognized, and remembered by the average person.
- She sensed him observing her, again just as he always did.
Synonyms
discern, feel, observe, notice, get the impression of, recognize, pick up, be/become cognizant of, be/become aware of, be/become conscious of, get/come to know, tell, distinguish, make out, find, identify, comprehend, apprehend, see, discover, learn, appreciate, realize, suspect, have a funny feeling, have a hunch, just know, divine, intuit, conceive
informal catch on to
British informal twig
rare cognize
1.1Be aware of (something) without being able to define exactly how one knows: she could sense her father’s anger rising [with clause]: he could sense that he wasn’t liked...
- Her father sensed her fear and discomfort and drew her to one side.
- His father must have sensed it too, because he pulled away and turned around and left, pretty quickly.
- Growing up in a bad neighborhood in Chicago had made Randy able to sense certain things.
2(Of a machine or similar device) detect: an optical fibre senses a current flowing in a conductor...
- The device can also be configured to provide different audible sounds for different movements that are sensed by the device.
- The study by Goodman et al is an example of a study using an objective technique for measuring inhaler skills, a computer sensing device.
- Modern sensing devices detect objects or terrain disturbances even though they are well camouflaged.
Phrases
bring someone to their (or come to one's) senses
in a (or one) sense
in every sense of the word
in one's senses
make sense
make sense of
out of one's senses
take leave of one's senses
Origin
Late Middle English (as a noun in the sense 'meaning'): from Latin sensus 'faculty of feeling, thought, meaning', from sentire 'feel'. The verb dates from the mid 16th century.