sense

noun

Any of the manners by which living beings perceive the physical world: for humans sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste.

Perception through the intellect; apprehension; awareness.

Sound practical or moral judgment.

The meaning, reason, or value of something.

A meaning of a term (word or expression), among its various meanings.

(semantics, lexicography) A single conventional use of a word; one of the entries or definitions for a word in a dictionary.

A natural appreciation or ability.

(pragmatics) The way that a referent is presented.

(mathematics) One of two opposite directions in which a vector (especially of motion) may point. See also polarity.

(mathematics) One of two opposite directions of rotation, clockwise versus anti-clockwise.

(biochemistry) referring to the strand of a nucleic acid that directly specifies the product.

verb

To use biological senses: to either see, hear, smell, taste, or feel.

To instinctively be aware.

To comprehend.

Roots

sentiosens- · Latin · feel

Synonyms for sense

feelv sensationn smelln sensibilityn intuitionn meaningn gumptionn perceptionn emotionn discernmentn

Synonyms & related words for sense

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of sense — including feel, sensation, smell, sensibility, intuition, meaning. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to sense

Explore words related to sense — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include subsense, sentiency, multisense, sentience, supersensual, signified, sensate, unfelt. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for sense

Common synonyms for sense include feel, sensation, smell, sensibility, intuition, meaning, gumption, perception — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does sense come from?

The word sense breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root sens-, from Latin sentio (“feel”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.