- sense
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 sight, hearing, etc.ADJECTIVE▪ acute, developed, good, keen▪
Raccoons have a highly developed sense of touch.
▪ poor▪ sixth▪He has a sixth sense when it comes to fashion.
VERB + SENSE▪ have▪He has an acute sense of smell.
▪ lose▪She lost her sense of hearing early in life.
▪ heighten, sharpen▪ dull▪The drink must have dulled your senses.
▪ appeal to▪Art should appeal to the senses rather than the intellect.
SENSE + VERB▪ tell sb▪When she came to, her senses told her she was lying on a beach.
▪ reel, swim▪Her senses reeled as she fought for consciousness.
SENSE + NOUN▪ organPREPOSITION▪ through the senses▪Although he can't see, he learns a lot through his other senses.
PHRASES▪ the five senses▪ the sense of hearing, the sense of sight, the sense of smell, the sense of taste, the sense of touch▪ an assault on the senses▪ the evidence of your senses2 feeling/awareness of sthADJECTIVE▪ deep, great, keen, overwhelming, palpable, pervasive, powerful, profound, strong, tremendous▪He felt a deep sense of relief after the phone call.
▪a palpable sense of danger
▪They feel a pervasive sense of loss and longing.
▪We felt a profound sense of alienation from Western culture.
▪ genuine, real, true▪ basic, underlying▪ clear▪He lacked a clear sense of direction.
▪ growing, heightened▪ new-found (esp. AmE), renewed▪Many felt a renewed sense of purpose in the nation's war effort.
▪ general, overall▪Aromatherapy is said to help foster a general sense of well-being.
▪ shared▪We have a shared sense of community.
▪ inner▪ slight, vague▪a vague sense of unease
▪ nagging▪Patti had a nagging sense of foreboding.
VERB + SENSE▪ experience, feel, have, possess▪I experienced a new sense of freedom.
▪ gain, get▪I got the sense that she wasn't very pleased to see us.
▪Readers gain a real sense of what life was like in the camp.
▪ display, show▪ convey▪The music conveyed a sense of loss.
▪ bring, give sb, provide▪The conviction may bring a sense of closure.
▪ create, develop, foster▪Clubs try to create a sense of community.
▪ keep, maintain, retain▪ lose▪ lack▪ heighten, sharpenPREPOSITION▪ sense of▪He seems to have lost his sense of reality.
PHRASES▪ a false sense of security▪The public has been lulled into a false sense of security.
3 understanding/ability to judgeADJECTIVE▪ good, great, wonderful▪She had a great sense of style.
▪ bad, poor▪ innate, intuitive, natural▪a natural sense of justice
▪ moral▪ business, dress, fashion▪He has no dress sense.
▪I have absolutely no fashion sense.
VERB + SENSE▪ havePREPOSITION▪ sense of▪a good sense of direction
▪a poor sense of rhythm
▪a great sense of timing
4 sensible or practical reason/judgementADJECTIVE▪ complete, perfect▪It all makes perfect sense (= is easy to understand).
▪ good▪ common, horse (esp. AmE)▪Common sense tells me I should get more sleep.
▪ business, economic, financial▪Family-friendly policies make good business sense.
▪ intuitive, logical▪These results seem to make intuitive sense.
VERB + SENSE▪ have▪He at least had the sense to call the police.
▪ display, show▪ lack▪Meg is incredibly intelligent but she lacks common sense.
▪ make▪This paragraph doesn't make sense.
▪ see▪I tried to make him see sense, but he just wouldn't listen.
▪ talk▪If you can't talk sense, I'm leaving!
PREPOSITION▪ sense in▪There's a lot of sense in what he's saying.
PHRASES▪ have more money than sense (esp. BrE)▪ make little sense▪It makes little sense to discuss this now.
▪ (not) an ounce of sense▪If you had an ounce of sense, you'd never have agreed to help him.
▪ knock some sense into sb, talk sense into sb (esp. AmE)▪I'm going to try and knock some sense into him.
▪We'll try and talk a little sense into her.
▪ there's no sense in sth▪There's no sense in going home before the concert.
5 your senses normal state of mindVERB + SENSES▪ come to, regain▪ take leave of▪Have you taken leave of your senses?
▪ bring sb to6 meaningADJECTIVE▪ broad, loose, wide▪The novel is about education in its widest sense.
▪ certain▪In a certain sense, justice was done.
▪ limited, narrow, strict▪ full▪This is a tragedy in the fullest sense of the word.
▪ accepted, classic, conventional, traditional▪I am not writing poetry in the traditional sense.
▪These teachings do not constitute a religion in the conventional sense.
▪ general, ordinary, usual▪I don't have any friends in the usual sense of the word.
▪Literacy, in a general sense, cannot be said to cause social development.
▪ meaningful▪He and I were no longer friends in any meaningful sense.
▪ negative, positive▪ practical▪ figurative, metaphorical▪ literal▪ legal, technical▪ spiritual▪ pejorativeVERB + SENSE▪ have▪That word has three senses.
PREPOSITION▪ in a sense▪In a sense, she's right.
PHRASES▪ in every sense of the word, in a very real sense▪In a very real sense, post-war repression was the continuation of the war.
▪ in the true sense of the word{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}verbADVERB▪ immediately▪I immediately sensed something was wrong.
▪ clearly, strongly▪He clearly sensed that some points could be scored.
▪I sensed very strongly that she was angry with me.
▪ dimly, vaguely▪ almost▪Sandra could almost sense the tension in the air.
▪ just▪Maybe she could just sense what I needed.
▪ apparently▪She apparently sensed defeat was inevitable.
▪ intuitivelySense is used with these nouns as the object: ↑apprehension, ↑atmosphere, ↑confusion, ↑danger, ↑disappointment, ↑disapproval, ↑disbelief, ↑discomfort, ↑distress, ↑disturbance, ↑emotion, ↑frustration, ↑hesitation, ↑hint, ↑hostility, ↑impatience, ↑magic, ↑mood, ↑movement, ↑nervousness, ↑pain, ↑presence, ↑relief, ↑reluctance, ↑sadness, ↑tension, ↑unease, ↑vibration
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
