sentient

From Latin sentiēns (“feeling, perceiving”), present active participle of sentiō.

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛn.ʃ(i.)ənt/, /ˈsɛn.ti.ənt/

sentient (comparative more sentient, superlative most sentient)

1. Experiencing sensation, thought, or feeling.

   Synonym: sensate

2. Able to consciously perceive through the use of sense faculties.

   Antonym: insensate

3. (chiefly science fiction) Possessing human-like awareness and intelligence.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:self-aware

• conscient

• “sentient” in Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction, Oxford University Press, 2007, →ISBN, pages 180–181.
• sentient adj. at the OED Science Fiction Citations Project

sentient (plural sentients)

1. Lifeform with the capability to feel sensation, such as pain.
2. (chiefly science fiction) An intelligent, self-aware being.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:sentient

   • 1965, Farmer, Philip José, The Maker of Universes:

     The merpeople and the sentients who lived on the beach often hitched rides on these creatures, steering them by pressure on exposed nerve centers.

• sentient n. at the OED Science Fiction Citations Project

sentient

1. third-person plural future active indicative of sentiō