/ senˈseɪʃn; NAmE / noun
1.
[ C ] a feeling that you get when sth affects your body :
a tingling / burning, etc. sensation
I had a sensation of falling, as if in a dream.
2.
[ U ] the ability to feel through your sense of touch
SYN feeling :
She seemed to have lost all sensation in her arms.
3.
[ C , usually sing. ] a general feeling or impression that is difficult to explain; an experience or a memory :
He had the eerie sensation of being watched.
When I arrived, I had the sensation that she had been expecting me.
4.
[ C , usually sing. , U ] very great surprise, excitement, or interest among a lot of people; the person or the thing that causes this surprise :
News of his arrest caused a sensation .
The band became a sensation overnight.
••
WORD ORIGIN
early 17th cent.: from medieval Latin sensatio(n-) , from Latin sensus faculty of feeling, thought, meaning, from sentire feel.