Sense Definition

sĕns

sensed, senses, sensing

noun

senses

The ability of the nerves and the brain to receive and react to stimuli, as light, sound, impact, constriction, etc.; specif., any of five faculties of receiving impressions through specific bodily organs and the nerves associated with them (sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing)

Webster's New World

Feeling, impression, or perception through the senses.

A sense of warmth, pain, etc.

Webster's New World

The faculties of sensation as means of providing physical gratification and pleasure.

American Heritage

The senses considered as a total function of the bodily organism, as distinguished from intellect, movement, etc.

Webster's New World

An ability to judge, discriminate, or estimate external conditions, sounds, etc.

A sense of direction, pitch, etc.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

verb

sensed, senses, sensing

To be or become aware of.

To sense another's hostility.

Webster's New World

To comprehend; understand.

Webster's New World

To detect automatically, as by sensors.

Webster's New World

To use biological senses: to either smell, watch, taste, hear or feel.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Antonyms:
be unaware
overlook
be numb

adjective

Of or relating to the portion of the strand of double-stranded DNA that serves as a template for and is transcribed into RNA.

American Heritage Medicine

other

Other Word Forms of Sense

Noun

Singular:

sense

Plural:

senses

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Sense

in a sense
make sense
make sense of

Origin of Sense

From Middle English sense, from Old French sens, sen, san (“sense, reason, direction"); partly from Latin sensus (“sensation, feeling, meaning"), from sentiō (“feel, perceive"); partly of Germanic origin (whence also Occitan sen, Italian senno), from Old Frankish *sinn (“reason, judgement, mental faculty, way, direction"), from Proto-Germanic *sinnaz (“mind, meaning"). Both Latin and Germanic from Proto-Indo-European *sent- (“to feel"). Compare French assener (“to thrust out"), forcené (“maniac"). More at send.

From Wiktionary
Middle English meaning from Old French sens from Latin sēnsus the faculty of perceiving from past participle of sentīre to feel sent- in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition