sense

/sens/

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Explanation of the Word "Sense"

Part of Speech: Noun and Verb

Usage Instructions:

• When using "sense" as a noun, you can talk about the different types of senses (like touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing) or use it to describe an awareness or understanding of a situation.
• When using "sense" as a verb, it often describes an instinctive understanding of emotions or situations.

Examples:

• Noun: "She has a good sense of humor." (This means she understands and appreciates jokes well.)
• Noun (different meaning): "In the best sense, he is a leader." (This means he is a leader in a positive way.)
• Verb: "I sensed that she was upset." (This means I could tell she was upset without her saying it directly.)

Advanced Usage:

• You might encounter phrases like "common sense," which refers to practical judgment that most people would agree on.
• "Sense of self" refers to someone's understanding of who they are as a person.

Word Variants:

• Sensible (adjective): Showing good sense or judgment. Example: "It is sensible to wear a coat in winter."
• Sensibility (noun): The ability to appreciate and respond to complex emotional or aesthetic influences. Example: "His sensibility allows him to create beautiful art."
• Sensitive (adjective): Easily affected by external influences, or having a quick understanding of others' feelings. Example: "She is very sensitive to criticism."

Different Meanings:

1. Physical Senses: Touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing.
2. Understanding or Interpretation: The meaning of a word or how we interpret a situation.
3. Emotional Awareness: A sense of happiness or danger refers to how we feel about something.

Synonyms:

• For the noun: perception, awareness, feeling, understanding, intuition.
• For the verb: perceive, detect, realize, recognize.

Idioms:

• "Common sense is not so common." This means that many people lack basic practical judgment.
• "In the best sense." This is used to describe something in a positive or ideal way.

Phrasal Verbs:

• "Sense out": To figure out or understand something through careful observation or intuition. Example: "He managed to sense out the truth behind her lies."

Summary:

The word "sense" is versatile and can be used in many ways, from describing our physical abilities to our emotional awareness and understanding of the world around us.

Academic

Noun

1. a natural appreciation or ability
   • a keen musical sense
   • a good sense of timing
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. a general conscious awareness
   • a sense of security
   • a sense of happiness
   • a sense of danger
   • a sense of self

Verb

1. comprehend
   • I sensed the real meaning of his letter
2. become aware of not through the senses but instinctively
   • I sense his hostility
   • i smell trouble
   • smell out corruption
3. detect some circumstance or entity automatically
   • This robot can sense the presence of people in the room
   • particle detectors sense ionization
4. 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

Synonyms

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