sense

[sens]

noun

1. any of the faculties, such as sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch, by which humans and animals perceive stimuli originating from outside or inside the body.

   Helen Keller once wrote that hearing was the sense she most wished she could have had.

2. Usually senses the faculties by which humans and animals perceive stimuli originating from outside or inside the body collectively.

   His senses were screaming that danger was nearby.

3. the operation or function of the organs of touch, taste, etc.; sensation.

   The bloodhound’s sense of smell is greatly enhanced by its long, droopy ears, which scoop up the scents from the ground.

4. a feeling or perception produced through the organs of touch, taste, etc., or resulting from a particular condition of some part of the body.

   She had an uncomfortable sense of cold on the back of her neck.

5. a faculty or function of the mind analogous to sensation.

   His moral sense rebelled against such an unethical scheme.

   Synonyms: apprehension, awareness

6. any special capacity for perception, estimation, appreciation, etc..

   In this job you've got to have a sense of humor.

7. Usually senses clear and sound mental faculties; sanity.

   Have you taken leave of your senses?

   Synonyms: rationality

8. a more or less vague perception or impression.

   Sitting with his back to the wall gave him a sense of security.

9. a mental discernment, realization, or recognition.

   All workers should have a sense of the worth of their labor.

   Synonyms: estimation

10. the recognition of something as incumbent or fitting.

    My sense of duty compels me to accept this mission.

11. sound practical intelligence.

    He has no sense.

12. something that is sensible or reasonable.

    Try to talk sense instead of shouting.

13. the meaning or gist of something.

    You missed the sense of his statement.

    Synonyms: interpretation, connotation, denotation, import, signification

14. the value or worth of something; merit.

    There's no sense in worrying about the past.

15. 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.

    The word "dog" has a literal sense, but it can also be metaphorical.

16. an opinion or judgment formed or held, especially by an assemblage or body of persons.

    We didn't bother with formal minutes, but we did take notes on the general sense of the meeting.

    Synonyms: sentiment, feeling

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

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

verb (used with object)

sensed, sensing 

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

   I sense there's a storm on the way.

   Synonyms: recognize, appreciate, discern

2. to grasp the meaning of; understand.

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

4. Computers.,  to receive or capture (encoded data) electrically, photoelectrically, etc., through an input device.

   When you scan the bar code, an optical mark reader senses the data encoded in the position of the bars.

sense

/ sɛns /

noun

1. 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

2. such faculties collectively; the ability to perceive

3. a feeling perceived through one of the senses

   a sense of warmth

4. a mental perception or awareness

   a sense of happiness

5. moral discernment; understanding

   a sense of right and wrong

6. (sometimes plural) sound practical judgment or intelligence

   he is a man without any sense

7. reason or purpose

   what is the sense of going out in the rain?

8. substance or gist; meaning

   what is the sense of this proverb?

9. specific meaning; definition

   in what sense are you using the word?

10. an opinion or consensus

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

12. logic linguistics

    1. 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

    2. the property of an expression by virtue of which its referent is determined

    3. that which one grasps in understanding an expression

13. to be reasonable or understandable

14. See leave 2

verb

1. to perceive through one or more of the senses

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

3. to understand

4. computing

   1. to test or locate the position of (a part of computer hardware)

   2. to read (data)

Other Word Forms

• half-sensed adjective
• unsensed adjective
• unsensing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sense¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun sens(e), from Middle French sens and 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sense¹

C14: from Latin sēnsus, from sentīre to feel

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. make sense, to be reasonable or comprehensible.

   His attitude doesn't make sense.

2. in a sense, according to one explanation or view; to a certain extent.

   In a sense it may have been the only possible solution.

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

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.

Synonym Study

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. See meaning.

Example Sentences

In a sense, Sweeney writes Dennis as someone also mourning the death of an idealized situation he thought would fix him.

From Los Angeles Times

First seen cycling his city’s streets day and night with a becalmed sense of ownership, Holland’s Roger is a die-hard Brooklynite none too happy with the smoothing over of his cherished neighborhoods by “obscene” money.

From Los Angeles Times

As they left, colleagues wept and supported each other as they tried to make sense of what had happened.

From BBC

Being a cartoonist requires a healthy sense of irony.

From Salon

That speculation, which went around social media before Tuesday’s press conference, was pulled straight from someone’s nether regions who has neither access to accurate information nor common sense.

From Salon

Related Words

• ability 
• appreciation 
• atmosphere 
• aura 
• common sense 
• feel 
• feeling 
• imagination 
• impression 
• insight 
• intelligence 
• judgment 
• knowledge 
• mentality 
• mind 
• recognition 
• sentiment 
• spirit 
• thought 
• understanding