sensible
English
Etymology
From Latin sēnsibilis (“perceptible by the senses, having feeling, sensible”), from sentiō (“to feel, perceive”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈsen.sə.bl̩/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈsɛn.sɪ.bl̩/
Audio (US) (file)
Adjective
sensible (comparative more sensible, superlative most sensible)
- (now dated or formal) Perceptible by the senses.
- (Can we date this quote?) Arbuthnot
- Air is sensible to the touch by its motion.
- 1778, William Lewis, The New Dispensatory (page 91)
- The sensible qualities of argentina promise no great virtue of this kind; for to the taste it discovers only a slight roughishness, from whence it may be presumed to be entitled to a place only among the milder corroborants.
- 1902, William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Folio Society 2008, page 45:
- It has been vouchsafed, for example, to very few Christian believers to have had a sensible vision of their Saviour.
- (Can we date this quote?) Arbuthnot
- Easily perceived; appreciable.
- (Can we date this quote?) Sir W. Temple
- The disgrace was more sensible than the pain.
- (Can we date this quote?) Adam Smith
- The discovery of the mines of America […] does not seem to have had any very sensible effect upon the prices of things in England.
- (Can we date this quote?) Sir W. Temple
- (archaic) Able to feel or perceive.
- (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
- Would your cambric were sensible as your finger.
- (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
- (archaic) Liable to external impression; easily affected; sensitive.
- a sensible thermometer
- (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
- with affection wondrous sensible
- Of or pertaining to the senses; sensory.
- (archaic) Cognizant; having the perception of something; aware of something.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Locke
- He cannot think at any time, waking or sleeping, without being sensible of it.
- (Can we date this quote?) Addison
- They are now sensible it would have been better to comply than to refuse.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Locke
- Acting with or showing good sense; able to make good judgements based on reason.
- Characterized more by usefulness or practicality than by fashionableness, especially of clothing.
- 1999, Neil Gaiman, Stardust (2001 Perennial Edition), page 8,
- They would walk, on fair evenings, around the village, and discuss the theory of crop rotation, and the weather, and other such sensible matters.
- 1999, Neil Gaiman, Stardust (2001 Perennial Edition), page 8,
Usage notes
- "Sensible" describes the reasonable way in which a person may think about things or do things:
- It wouldn't be sensible to start all over again now.
- It is not comparable to its cognates in certain languages (see below).
- "Sensitive" describes an emotional way in which a person may react to things:
- He has always been a sensitive child.
- I didn’t realize she was so sensitive about her work.
Related terms
Translations
perceptible by the mind
|
easily perceived, appreciable
|
able to feel or perceive
|
aware of something
acting with or showing good judgement
|
|
characterized more by usefulness than by fashionableness
|
Noun
sensible (plural sensibles)
- (obsolete) Sensation; sensibility.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
- Our temper changed […] which must needs remove the sensible of pain.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
- (obsolete) That which impresses itself on the senses; anything perceptible.
- (Can we date this quote?) Krauth-Fleming
- Aristotle distinguished sensibles into common and proper.
- (Can we date this quote?) Krauth-Fleming
- (obsolete) That which has sensibility; a sensitive being.
- (Can we date this quote?) Burton
- This melancholy extends itself not to men only, but even to vegetals and sensibles.
- (Can we date this quote?) Burton
Further reading
- sensible in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- sensible in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- sensible at OneLook Dictionary Search
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɑ̃.sibl/
Audio (file)
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Latin sēnsibilis.
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “sensible” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
German
Spanish
Etymology
From Latin sēnsibilis.
Usage notes
- Sensible is a false friend, and does not mean reasonable in Spanish. Spanish equivalents are shown above, in the "Translations" section of the English entry sensible.
Antonyms
Related terms
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