sense

Noun

• a natural appreciation or ability
  • a keen musical sense
    
  • a good sense of timing
    

• sound practical judgment
  • Common sense is not so common
    
  • he hasn't got the sense God gave little green apples
    
  • fortunately she had the good sense to run away
    

• the faculty through which the external world is apprehended
  • in the dark he had to depend on touch and on his senses of smell and hearing
    

• the meaning of a word or expression; the way in which a word or expression or situation can be interpreted
  • the dictionary gave several senses for the word
    
  • in the best sense charity is really a duty
    
  • the signifier is linked to the signified
    

• a general conscious awareness
  • a sense of security
    
  • a sense of happiness
    
  • a sense of danger
    
  • a sense of self
    

Verb

• comprehend
  • I sensed the real meaning of his letter
    

• become aware of not through the senses but instinctively
  • I sense his hostility
    
  • i smell trouble
    
  • smell out corruption
    

• detect some circumstance or entity automatically
  • This robot can sense the presence of people in the room
    
  • particle detectors sense ionization
    

• perceive by a physical sensation, e.g., coming from the skin or muscles
  • He felt the wind
    
  • She felt an object brushing her arm
    
  • He felt his flesh crawl
    
  • She felt the heat when she got out of the car
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  common sense , good sense , gumption , horse sense , mother wit , sensation , sentience , sentiency , sensory faculty , signified , smell , smell out , feel