sense

Pluralsenses

Formssenses, sensing, sensed

1. 1
   feelingnounusually singular

   Awareness or perception grasped through the mind rather than the body.

   She had a nagging sense that something was wrong with the plan.

   A growing sense of unease spread through the waiting crowd.

   UsageUsually a sense of + noun, as in a sense of unease, or a sense that something is wrong.

   Similarfeeling, awareness, impression, suspicion, perception

   Note

   Here perception moves from the body to the mind, and the usual frame is a sense of plus a noun: a sense of security, or Milton's "sense of injured merit." It names a felt awareness rather than a reasoned conclusion. Tennyson's "hoarding sense" in In Memoriam (1850) shows how close it stays to bodily perception, with memory treated almost as an organ that stores impressions and gives them out again. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Milton wrote "sense of injured merit"; the phrase occurs in Satan's speech in Paradise Lost, Book I, with spelling modernized in the item. gutenberg.org
   • Tennyson's In Memoriam contains the phrase "hoarding sense," describing the retention and occasional return of impressions. gutenberg.org
   • In Memoriam was first published in 1850. en.wikisource.org
2. 2
   logicnoununcountable

   What something means, what purpose it serves, or what makes it worthwhile.

   Explain the sense behind the new rule so people will follow it.

   She questioned the sense of spending so much on one meal.

   UsageIt makes sense (not incorrect: it has sense); also there's no sense in + -ing: no sense in waiting.

   Similarpoint, logic, rationale, reason, purpose

   Note

   To question the sense of something is to question its point or value, not its wording. Shakespeare's "I think 'twas in another sense," from The Taming of the Shrew, sits on the border with one meaning among several, where the word narrows to the meanings of words. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The quoted words occur in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Tranio speaks them in Act 1, Scene 1; the excerpt omits the preceding "Although." rsc.org.uk
3. 3
   sight or hearingnouncountable

   Any of the ways a living being perceives the physical world; in humans, sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste.

   The sense of taste lets us tell sweet foods from sour ones.

   Each of the five senses sends its own signals to the brain.

   UsageName each one with of: sense of smell, sense of touch; together they are the five senses.

   Similarfaculty

   Note

   The meaning the word's other uses grow from: Old French sens, partly from Latin sensus, from sentiō, "feel, perceive." Counted, it names the separate channels, the five senses. Uncountable, it names perception as a whole, as in Milton's "the reach / Of human sense" in Paradise Lost (1667) or Shakespeare's "my sense in Lethe steep" in Twelfth Night. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

   • Sense derives through Old French sens partly from Latin sensus, from sentio, meaning 'feel, perceive'. en.wiktionary.org
   • The five senses is the traditional enumeration of sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste. en.wikipedia.org
   • The quoted words occur across a line break in John Milton's Paradise Lost, Book V; Raphael is the speaker. gutenberg.org
   • Paradise Lost was first published in 1667. old-digitalcollections.nypl.org
   • The quoted words occur in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Act IV, scene i; Sebastian is the speaker. gutenberg.org
4. 4
   good judgmentnoununcountable

   Sound practical or moral judgment; the ability to make wise and reasonable decisions.

   Anyone with sense would have brought an umbrella in such weather.

   Her practical sense kept the whole project from falling apart.

   UsageOften have the good sense to + verb. Have sense is about judgment; make sense means be clear or logical.

   Similarjudgment, wisdom, prudence, intelligence

   Oppositefoolishness, folly, stupidity

   Note

   Its commonest home is the fixed pair common sense: "It's common sense not to put metal objects in a microwave oven." In this use you simply have sense, or have no sense at all: anyone with sense would agree, or she had the sense to leave early.

5. 5
   nouncountable

   One of the distinct meanings that a word or expression can have, especially as listed separately in a dictionary.

   Read carefully to see which sense of the term the author intends.

   Many common words carry several distinct senses.

   UsageUse in: a word used in two senses; ‘light’ in the sense of ‘not heavy’. In a sense means ‘from one point of view’.

   Similarmeaning, definition

6. 6
   a feel fornounusually singular

   A natural appreciation of or ability for something, such as a feel for rhythm or color.

   The dancer has an extraordinary sense of rhythm.

   His dry sense of humor brightens any meeting.

   UsageUsually a sense of + noun: a sense of humor, a sense of direction; an adjective also works: musical sense.

   Similarfeel, flair, appreciation, instinct

   Note

   Ability described as a kind of perception: a keen musical sense is talked about the way the bodily senses are, as something sharp or dull.

7. 7
   know by instinctverbtransitive

   To become aware of something by instinct rather than by reasoning.

   Good leaders sense tension in a room before it boils over.

   She immediately sensed that she was unwelcome at the table.

   Similarfeel, detect, perceive, intuit, discern

8. 8
   detect physicallyverbtransitive

   To perceive something through sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch.

   Many fish sense vibrations in the water around them.

   The moth's antennae sensed a faint scent on the breeze.

   Similardetect, perceive, feel

9. 9
   understandverbtransitive

   To grasp or understand the meaning of something.

   Readers slowly sense the deeper meaning of the poem.

   He sensed the full weight of her argument only at the end.

   Similargrasp, understand, comprehend, appreciate, realize

10. 10
    nouncountable or uncountable

    The particular way in which something referred to is presented or described.

    'The morning star' and 'the evening star' share a referent but differ in sense.

    Two expressions can pick out the same object while presenting it through a different sense.

    Note

    Semantics and the philosophy of language set the word against reference. The referent is what an expression picks out; its sense is the mode of presentation, the cognitive content the expression carries. That is how two expressions can denote the very same object and still differ in what they convey. In this technical use, sense is a defined term, not a loose synonym for meaning.

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