I. ˈsen(t)s noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French sens, from Latin sensus sensation, feeling, understanding, signification, from sensus, past participle of sentire to perceive, feel, suppose; akin to Old High German sin mind, sense, sinnan to travel, strive after, sind journey, road — more at send
1. : something to be grasped, comprehended, known : signification: as
a. : one of the multifold (as literal, anagogic, allegorical, tropological) meanings considered present in the Bible or in allegorical writings (as the Divine Comedy)
b.
(1) : the particular meaning intended (as by a writer or speaker)
you miss my sense — Shakespeare
the addition corrupted the sense of the passage
(2) : the one of two or more literal meanings by which a word or passage may rationally be construed in context
there can be but one sense here
the context will not admit of such a sense
c.
(1) : an interpretation that may be given to a group of words forming a passage : the meaning of such a group as a functional unit
I did not understand him in that sense
learned the speech by heart and missed the sense entirely
(2) : general or essential meaning of an utterance : substance , gist
the sense of the decision was presented in a summary
give the sense of his argument
d. : the meaning of a word or fixed phrase or one of the distinct meanings that it may bear in diverse situations ; especially : a meaning of a word as segregated in a dictionary or glossary
e. : meaning that is rational or intelligible
he speaks sense — Shakespeare
f. : prose supplied to a student for expression in Greek or Latin verse
2.
a. : a mechanism or faculty of perception
(1) : the faculty of receiving mental impressions through the action of sense organs of the body or of perceiving changes in the condition of the body — not often used technically
(2) : any special faculty of sensation
spiritual and occult senses
(3) : a specialized mechanism or function by virtue of which an animal is receptive and responsive to a particular stimulus or class of stimuli either arising externally (as in the case of the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, temperature, or pain) or internally (as in the case of the kinesthetic and organic senses)
(4) : the total function comprising the several sensory mechanisms regarded as a unit distinct from other functions (as of movement or thought)
knowledge derived from sense
sense experience
b. obsolete : sense organ
c. : power or means of perception : capacity to perceive and interpret stimuli : consciousness , sanity — usually used in plural
lose her senses
his senses were clear to the last
d.
(1) : power of interpolating or deducing from observations or unnoted stimuli in respect to a particular field or relation
a sense of time
a good sense of location
(2) : instinctive comprehension (as of fine points) and acuteness or resourcefulness in gaining mastery or success in respect to a particular thing (as an art or a game or medium)
keen musical sense
a natural language sense
a born flier with a real air sense
(3) : a faculty for intellectual and aesthetic grasp and appreciation
a sense of beauty
3. : awareness or perception arrived at through or as if through interpretation of sensory stimuli: as
a. : perception by means of the intellect : understanding or discerning awareness or comprehension : appreciation
a good sense of values
b.
(1) : an awareness or feeling of a particular nature resulting from a particular stimulus
a sense of well-being
a sudden sense of warmth on entering the house
(2) : a vague and unanalyzable but persistent awareness or feeling
had a sense that the child was in danger
a sense of insecurity
(3) : a sensitive and usually sympathetic or grateful recognition
a sense of God's mercies
(4) : a self-conscious motivating awareness or conviction
a sense of shame
tried to control his sense of injury
(5) : a moral awareness or appreciation : recognition based on established usage or in accordance with normal behavior
utterly careless and lacking any sense of responsibility
c.
(1) : perception by means of the senses and especially when aesthetic or emotional in content or orientation
shall reason yield to mere sense
(2) : an avenue of sensory perception — usually used in plural
feast the senses on that scene of delight
4. : something that is felt or held as a sentiment, view, or opinion — used chiefly of groups of persons
the sense of the meeting
5.
a. : mind , sentience , intelligence
as if the steel had sense — Edmund Spenser
b. : sound mental capacity often marked by shrewd practical understanding
a man of sense
had sense enough to win
also : something that is based on or typical of such sense : a logical, sensible, or practical thing, act, or way of doing
no sense in waiting
your decision makes sense
6.
[French sens, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German sinnan to travel, strive after]
a. : a direction in which something (as motion) takes place or is visualized as taking place : trend , course
b. : one of two opposite directions in which a line, surface, or region may be supposed to be described by the motion of a point, line, or surface — symbolically denoted respectively by + and -
Synonyms:
common sense , good sense , horse sense , judgment , wisdom , gumption : sense , as herein treated, indicates an accustomed steady ability to judge and decide between possible courses with intelligence and soundness
the only one that has any sense in that family — Margaret Deland
whose practical sense equaled his intuitive genius — Henry Adams
common sense , good sense , and horse sense add only slight additional suggestions to sense , common sense suggesting ordinary good judgment and prudence without sophistication, learning, or special knowledge, good sense implying an especial perception of circumstances and soundness in analysis, horse sense connoting a blending of sense with hard, plain, uncultured shrewdness or depth of observation
freedom with commonsense regulations that any sensible man may be expected to observe — H.S.Commager
the main attribute required is a certain balance of experience, prudence and sympathy which is generally called common sense — Economist
the tall young king went through the long, intricate, and exhausting service with dignity and good sense, and added meaning to much of the symbolism by his understanding of it — Manchester Guardian Weekly
possessed … good horse sense, which was at times more valuable than the complex conceptions put forth by the party and its leading theoreticians — D.J.Dallin
judgment involves notions of sense refined and tempered by experience, maturity, training, or discipline to discern coolly and judge soundly in difficult matters
the ultimate test of true worth … is the trained judgment of the good and sensible man — G.L.Dickinson
that all shrewdness of speculation had given place to shrewdness of practical judgment based on very definite experience — John Galsworthy
wisdom , of these synonyms the one indicating highest praise, suggests great soundness, sagacity, and insight, the result of blending together common sense, wit, experience, maturity, learning, and understanding
wisdom, she saw at last, was knowledge plus vision — Helen Howe
wisdom is a kind of knowledge. It is knowledge of the nature, career and consequences of human values. Since these cannot be separated from the human organism and the social scene, the moral ways of man cannot be understood without knowledge of the ways of things and institutions — Sidney Hook
gumption , like horse sense in being informal in suggestion, may connote a combination of clever common sense and initiative or drive, especially the latter in today's English
a man's common sense means his good judgment, his freedom from eccentricity, his gumption — William James
Synonym: see in addition sensation .
•
- in a sense
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1.
a. : to perceive by the senses
b. : to have consciousness of : feel the imminence or presence of : anticipate
sense danger
sensed a flaw in the reasoning
2. obsolete
a. : to give the sense or meaning of : expound
b. : test , examine , analyze
3. : to get the meaning of : grasp , comprehend , realize
did not sense his meaning
4. : to become aware of without express communication
sensed her dislike
5. : to estimate the position of burst of (a round or a shot) with reference to a target
6. : to detect (a symbol) automatically or mechanically
computing machines that sense the holes in tabulating cards with appropriately spaced steel pins