sense
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/sɛns/
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Perception through the body, felt awareness, meaning, practical judgment, technical direction, and the act of detecting something subtle or indirect.
Examples
- Balance is sometimes described as another sense.
- She could sense his disappointment.
- The sensor senses motion in the hallway.
- The system senses pressure and adjusts the valve.
- Cold air brought back his sense of smell.
Similar words
intuition
feel
discern
reason
import
impression
common sense
awareness
interpretation
prudence
Meanings
Usage
Use sense for a faculty of perception, either one specific faculty or the set of them as the senses.
Examples
- Dogs have a keen sense of smell.
- The infection affected his sense of taste.
- Her sense of hearing remained unusually sharp.
- The blindfold made him rely on his sense of touch.
- The five senses are often listed as sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.
- Balance is sometimes described as another sense.
- Cold air brought back his sense of smell.
Common mistakes
Sense is singular when naming one faculty, while senses names several faculties together.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| He has a good senses of smell.
| He has a good sense of smell.
|
| The painting has a strong sense of temperature.
| The room has a strong sensation of warmth.
|
| She lost her sense after the accident.
| She lost her sense of smell after the accident.
|
Similar words
perception
sensation
faculty
sensibility
Usage
Use sense for an impression or awareness that is felt as much as reasoned, as in a sense of danger or a sense of belonging.
Examples
- A sense of unease spread through the room.
- He had a strong sense that something was wrong.
- The village gave her a sense of belonging.
- She has a dry sense of humor.
- His sense of timing made the joke land perfectly.
- The team worked with a clear sense of purpose.
- A sense of urgency changed the mood of the meeting.
Common mistakes
Sense of normally introduces the thing being felt or understood.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| I had a sense danger.
| I had a sense of danger.
|
| There was a sense that happy.
| There was a sense that people were happy.
|
| Her sense of humor helped her smell the joke.
| Her sense of humor helped her understand the joke.
|
Similar words
awareness
feeling
impression
intuition
perception
instinct
Usage
Use sense for meaning in context, and for the coherence meant in phrases such as make sense and no sense.
Examples
- In this sense, the word means a legal right.
- The sentence makes no sense without the missing verb.
- A dictionary entry may list several senses of one word.
- Her explanation gave the data a clear sense.
- The joke loses its sense in translation.
- The phrase has a technical sense in philosophy.
- It makes sense to read the warning first.
Common mistakes
In this sense is correct for meaning in context, while since is a different word about time or cause.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| In this since, the word is legal.
| In this sense, the word is legal.
|
| These sense of the term are old.
| These senses of the term are old.
|
| The instructions do not make since.
| The instructions do not make sense.
|
Similar words
meaning
significance
interpretation
import
coherence
point
Usage
Use sense for practical judgment, especially in phrases such as common sense, good sense, and have the sense to do something.
Examples
- Common sense suggests taking an umbrella.
- She had the good sense to ask for help.
- There is little sense in arguing over the receipt.
- His plan showed practical sense.
- It takes sense to stop before the risk grows.
- The proposal has financial sense for a small company.
- A little sense would have prevented the mistake.
Common mistakes
Common sense is uncountable, so it does not take a or a plural senses in ordinary use.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| It is a common sense to check the brakes.
| It is common sense to check the brakes.
|
| She showed good senses by waiting.
| She showed good sense by waiting.
|
| He had the sense driving in the storm.
| He had the sense to avoid driving in the storm.
|
Similar words
judgment
wisdom
prudence
reason
discernment
common sense
Usage
Use sense in technical writing for direction along a line, around a rotation, or through an ordered sequence.
Examples
- The arrow shows the positive sense of rotation.
- The two gears turn in opposite senses.
- A vector has direction and sense, not only magnitude.
- The path is traversed in the clockwise sense.
- The notation fixes the sense in which the curve is followed.
- The screw tightens when turned in the correct sense.
- The experiment reversed the sense of the magnetic field.
Common mistakes
Sense in this technical use means direction, not meaning or bodily perception.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| Turn the wheel in the same meaning.
| Turn the wheel in the same sense.
|
| The vector has length but no sense.
| The vector has direction and sense.
|
| Read the strand in the opposite since.
| Read the strand in the opposite sense.
|
Similar words
direction
orientation
course
way
Usage
Use sense when awareness is indirect, subtle, automatic, or not based on a fully stated conclusion.
Examples
- The dog sensed danger before anyone moved.
- The sensor senses motion in the hallway.
- She could sense his disappointment.
- Plants can sense changes in light.
- We sensed that the mood had shifted.
- The system senses pressure and adjusts the valve.
- He sensed an opportunity in the quiet market.
Common mistakes
Sensed is the regular past tense, and senses is the third-person singular present form.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| I senseed a change in the room.
| I sensed a change in the room.
|
| The device sense motion.
| The device senses motion.
|
| She sensed the answer by reading the report carefully.
| She understood the answer by reading the report carefully.
|
Similar words
detect
perceive
notice
feel
discern
pick up
Usage
Use sense by context: the body has senses, a word has senses, a plan may make sense, and a person or device can sense a change.
Common mistakes
Sense is often confused with since, while common sense stays singular and sense of is needed before many nouns.
Etymology
From Old French sens, from Latin sensus, meaning feeling, perception, understanding, or meaning.
FAQ
Sense can mean a bodily faculty, an intuitive feeling, meaning, practical judgment, technical direction, or the act of detecting something.
What are the five senses?
The five traditional senses are sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.
What does make sense mean?
Make sense means to be understandable, reasonable, or coherent.
What does in this sense mean?
In this sense means in this particular meaning, respect, or way of understanding something.
Is sense the same as since?
No. Sense is about perception, meaning, or judgment. Since is about time or cause.
Yes. To sense something is to detect it, notice it, or become aware of it.
Common sense is practical judgment about what is reasonable or likely to work.
What does sense mean in mathematics or physics?
In technical use, sense can mean one of two possible directions of movement, rotation, order, or orientation.
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