| Library / English Dictionary |
SENSIBLE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Aware intuitively or intellectually of something sensed
Example:
sensible that a good deal more is still to be done
Classified under:
Similar:
aware; cognisant; cognizant ((sometimes followed by 'of') having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception)
Derivation:
sense (become aware of not through the senses but instinctively)
sensibleness (the quality of showing good sense or practical judgment)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Readily perceived by the senses
Example:
a sensible odor
Classified under:
Similar:
perceptible (capable of being perceived by the mind or senses)
Derivation:
sense (perceive by a physical sensation, e.g., coming from the skin or muscles)
sensibility ((physiology) responsiveness to external stimuli; the faculty of sensation)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Showing reason or sound judgment
Example:
a sensible person
Synonyms:
reasonable; sensible
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
commonsense; commonsensible; commonsensical (exhibiting native good judgment)
healthy; intelligent; level-headed; levelheaded; sound (exercising or showing good judgment)
tenable; well-founded (based on sound reasoning or evidence)
Also:
fair; just (free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules)
logical (capable of or reflecting the capability for correct and valid reasoning)
rational (consistent with or based on or using reason)
valid (well grounded in logic or truth or having legal force)
Attribute:
reasonableness (goodness of reason and judgment)
Derivation:
sensibleness (the quality of showing good sense or practical judgment)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Able to feel or perceive
Example:
the more sensible parts of the skin
Synonyms:
sensible; sensitive
Classified under:
Adjectives
Also:
aware; cognisant; cognizant ((sometimes followed by 'of') having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception)
conscious (knowing and perceiving; having awareness of surroundings and sensations and thoughts)
sensitive (responsive to physical stimuli)
Antonym:
insensible (incapable of physical sensation)
Derivation:
sense (perceive by a physical sensation, e.g., coming from the skin or muscles)
sensibility ((physiology) responsiveness to external stimuli; the faculty of sensation)
sensibility (mental responsiveness and awareness)
Context examples:
To come with a well-informed mind is to come with an inability of administering to the vanity of others, which a sensible person would always wish to avoid.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
You seem to me to have acted all through this matter like a very brave and sensible girl, Miss Hunter.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A very sensible reply, Watson.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A certain father had two sons, the elder of who was smart and sensible, and could do everything, but the younger was stupid and could neither learn nor understand anything, and when people saw him they said: There’s a fellow who will give his father some trouble!
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
She was sensible that you had never received any proper acknowledgment from herself.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
A man—a sensible man like Dr.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
It had long been going on to this, I was sensible: yes, I could not but feel, on the least reflection, that it had been going on to this for a long time.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
"Now do be reasonable, and take a sensible view of the case," implored Jo, almost at her wit's end.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
But, upon my word, I am scarcely sensible of his attentions being beyond those of other men.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
The suggestion was sensible, and yet I could not force myself to act on it.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
