Definition

Noun: - An intuitive faculty or ability to perceive or understand something without conscious reasoning or the use of the five traditional senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell). It is often described as a kind of instinctive feeling or insight.

Usage

The term "sixth sense" is used to describe an intuitive understanding or awareness that seems to come from beyond ordinary perception. It is often associated with预感 (premonitions), gut feelings, or unexplained knowledge. - It is typically used as a singular noun. - It often follows verbs like "have," "trust," or "rely on."

Examples

• She has a sixth sense for when her children are in trouble, even when they are far away.
• The experienced detective seemed to operate on a sixth sense, often knowing where to find clues.
• I trusted my sixth sense and decided not to get on that flight.

Advanced Usage

• To have a sixth sense for (something): To possess a natural, intuitive talent for detecting or understanding a specific thing.
  • He has a sixth sense for business opportunities.
• To rely on one's sixth sense: To depend on intuitive feelings to make decisions.
  • In the wilderness, she learned to rely on her sixth sense for danger.

Variants and Related Words

• Intuition (n): The ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning. (This is a more general and commonly used synonym.)
• Instinct (n): An innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in response to certain stimuli. (While similar, "instinct" is often more biologically driven than "sixth sense.")
• Clairvoyance (n): The supposed faculty of perceiving things or events in the future or beyond normal sensory contact. (This is a more specific, and often paranormal, related concept.)
• Gut feeling (n): An instinctive emotion, as opposed to an intellectual one. (A common informal equivalent.)

Synonyms

• Intuition
• Insight
• Premonition (specifically for a feeling about a future event)
• Instinct
• Second sight

Related Phrases

• A hunch: A feeling or guess based on intuition rather than evidence.
  • I had a hunch he would be there, and I was right.
• A feeling in one's bones: A strong intuitive conviction.
  • She had a feeling in her bones that the deal would fall through.

Idioms

• To sense/feel something in the air: To detect a mood or possibility intuitively.
  • You could sense the tension in the air before the announcement.
• To have a nose for something: To have a natural ability to detect or find something. (This idiom is more specific and sensory-metaphoric than "sixth sense.")
  • That reporter has a nose for a good story.

Noun

1. grasping the inner nature of things intuitively