sense

[sens] noun, verb, sensed, sens·ing.
noun
1.
any of the faculties, as sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch, by which humans and animals perceive stimuli originating from outside or inside the body.
2.
these faculties collectively.
3.
their operation or function; sensation.
4.
a feeling or perception produced through the organs of touch, taste, etc., or resulting from a particular condition of some part of the body: to have a sense of cold.
5.
a faculty or function of the mind analogous to sensation: the moral sense.
6.
any special capacity for perception, estimation, appreciation, etc.: a sense of humor.
7.
Usually, senses. clear and sound mental faculties; sanity: Have you taken leave of your senses?
8.
a more or less vague perception or impression: a sense of security.
9.
a mental discernment, realization, or recognition; acuteness: a just sense of the worth of a thing.
10.
the recognition of something as incumbent or fitting: a sense of duty.
11.
sound practical intelligence: He has no sense.
12.
something that is sensible or reasonable: to talk sense.
13.
the meaning or gist of something: You missed the sense of his statement.
14.
the value or worth of something; merit: There's no sense in worrying about the past.
15.
the meaning of a word or phrase in a specific context, especially as isolated in a dictionary or glossary; the semantic element in a word or group of words.
16.
an opinion or judgment formed or held, especially by an assemblage or body of persons: the sense of a meeting.
17.
Genetics. a DNA sequence that is capable of coding for an amino acid (distinguished from nonsense ).
18.
Mathematics. one of two opposite directions in which a vector may point.
verb (used with object)
19.
to perceive (something) by the senses; become aware of.
20.
to grasp the meaning of; understand.
21.
(of certain mechanical devices) to detect physical phenomena, as light, temperature, radioactivity, etc., mechanically, electrically, or photoelectrically.
22.
Computers. to read (punched holes, tape, data, etc.) mechanically, electrically, or photoelectrically.
00:10
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to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.
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Idioms
23.
come to one's senses, to regain one's good judgment or realistic point of view; become reasonable.
24.
in a sense, according to one explanation or view; to a certain extent: In a sense it may have been the only possible solution.
25.
make sense, to be reasonable or comprehensible: His attitude doesn't make sense.
Origin:
1350–1400; (noun) Middle English < Latin sēnsus sensation, feeling, understanding, equivalent to sent(īre) to feel + -tus suffix of v. action, with tt > s; (v.) derivative of the noun

Related forms
half-sensed, adjective
un·sensed, adjective
un·sens·ing, adjective

Can be confused: cents, scents, sense.

Synonyms
4. Sense, sensation refer to consciousness of stimulus or of a perception as pleasant or unpleasant. A sense is an awareness or recognition of something; the stimulus may be subjective and the entire process may be mental or intellectual: a sense of failure. A sensation is an impression derived from an objective (external) stimulus through any of the sense organs: a sensation of heat. It is also a general, indefinite physical or emotional feeling: a sensation of weariness. 5. awareness, apprehension. 7. rationality. 9. estimation, appreciation. 13. signification, import, denotation, connotation, interpretation. See meaning. 16. feeling, sentiment. 19. discern, appreciate, recognize.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
sense (sɛns) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  any of the faculties by which the mind receives information about the external world or about the state of the body. In addition to the five traditional faculties of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, the term includes the means by which bodily position, temperature, pain, balance, etc, are perceived
2.  such faculties collectively; the ability to perceive
3.  a feeling perceived through one of the senses: a sense of warmth
4.  a mental perception or awareness: a sense of happiness
5.  moral discernment; understanding: a sense of right and wrong
6.  (sometimes plural) sound practical judgment or intelligence: he is a man without any sense
7.  reason or purpose: what is the sense of going out in the rain?
8.  substance or gist; meaning: what is the sense of this proverb?
9.  specific meaning; definition: in what sense are you using the word?
10.  an opinion or consensus
11.  maths one of two opposite directions measured on a directed line; the sign as contrasted with the magnitude of a vector
12.  logic, linguistics
 a.  the import of an expression as contrasted with its referent. Thus the morning star and the evening star have the same reference, Venus, but different senses
 b.  the property of an expression by virtue of which its referent is determined
 c.  that which one grasps in understanding an expression
13.  make sense to be reasonable or understandable
14.  take leave of one's senses See leave
 
—vb
15.  to perceive through one or more of the senses
16.  to apprehend or detect without or in advance of the evidence of the senses
17.  to understand
18.  computing
 a.  to test or locate the position of (a part of computer hardware)
 b.  to read (data)
 
[C14: from Latin sēnsus, from sentīre to feel]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

sense
c.1400, "faculty of perception," also "meaning or interpretation" (esp. of Holy Scripture), from O.Fr. sens, from L. sensus "perception, feeling, undertaking, meaning," from sentire "perceive, feel, know," prob. a fig. use of a lit. meaning "to find one's way," from PIE base *sent- "to go" (cf. O.H.G.
sinnan "to go, travel, strive after, have in mind, perceive," Ger. Sinn "sense, mind," O.E. sið "way, journey," O.Ir. set, Welsh hynt "way"). Application to any one of the external or outward senses (touch, sight, hearing, etc.) first recorded 1526.
"Hornkostel cites a Negro tribe that has a separate word for seeing, but employs a common term for hearing, tasting, smelling, and touching." [A.G. Engstrom, "Philological Quarterly," XXV, 1946]
The verb meaning "to perceive by the senses" is recorded from 1598. Senses "mental faculties, sanity" is attested from 1568.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

sense (sěns)
n.

  1. Any of the faculties by which stimuli from outside or inside the body are received and felt, as the faculties of hearing, sight, smell, touch, taste, and equilibrium.

  2. A perception or feeling that is produced by a stimulus; sensation, as of hunger.

v. sensed, sens·ing, sens·es
To become aware of; perceive.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang Dictionary

sinse definition

[sɪnts] and [ˈsɛnts (bəd)]
and sense (bud)
  1. n.
    seedless marijuana. (Drugs. From Spanish sinsemilla, “seedless.”) : Where's the sinse I was saving? , Tom only gets high on sense bud.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

sense definition

human language
A meaning of a word.
(2007-05-03)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

sense

see come to one's senses; horse sense; in a sense; lull into (a false sense of security); make sense; sixth sense; take leave of (one's senses); talk sense.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
You'll be feeling a bit whiplashed, but that sense of disorientation hints at
  the fast-paced city that lies ahead.
The role of emotions in decisions makes perfect sense.
Tasting as applied here is a misnomer, by the way, because it suggests that
  only one sense is involved.
Based on what is known about dinosaur lives, this strategy made evolutionary
  sense.
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