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sensibility - 5 dictionary results

sen⋅si⋅bil⋅i⋅ty

  [sen-suh-bil-i-tee]
Use sensibility in a Sentence
–noun, plural -ties.
1. capacity for sensation or feeling; responsiveness or susceptibility to sensory stimuli.
2. mental susceptibility or responsiveness; quickness and acuteness of apprehension or feeling.
3. keen consciousness or appreciation.
4. sensibilities, emotional capacities.
5. Sometimes, sensibilities. liability to feel hurt or offended; sensitive feelings.
6. Often, sensibilities. capacity for intellectual and aesthetic distinctions, feelings, tastes, etc.: a man of refined sensibilities.
7. the property, as in plants or instruments, of being readily affected by external influences.
Origin:
1325–75; ME sensibilite < MF < LL sēnsibilitās. See sensible, -ity

Synonyms:
1. Sensibility, susceptibility, sensitiveness, sensitivity refer to capacity to respond to or be affected by something. Sensibility is, particularly, capacity to respond to aesthetic and emotional stimuli: the sensibility of the artist. Susceptibility is the state or quality of being impressionable and responsive, esp. to emotional stimuli; in the plural it has much the same meaning as sensibility: a person of keen susceptibilities. Sensitiveness is the state or quality of being sensitive, of having a capacity of sensation and of responding to external stimuli: sensitiveness to light. Sensitivity is a special capability of being sensitive to physiological, chemical action or a tendency to be easily affected by the adverse reactions of others: the sensitivity of a nerve; sensitivity to criticism. 2. alertness, awareness.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To sensibility
sen·si·bil·i·ty   (sěn'sə-bĭl'ĭ-tē)   
n.   pl. sen·si·bil·i·ties
  1. The ability to feel or perceive.
    1. Keen intellectual perception: the sensibility of a painter to color.
    2. Mental or emotional responsiveness toward something, such as the feelings of another.
  3. Receptiveness to impression, whether pleasant or unpleasant; acuteness of feeling. Often used in the plural: "The sufferings of the Cuban people shocked our sensibilities" (George F. Kennan).
  4. Refined awareness and appreciation in matters of feeling.
  5. The quality of being affected by changes in the environment.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Sensibility

Sen`si*bil"i*ty\, n.; pl. Sensibilities. [Cf. F. sensibilit['e], LL. sensibilitas.]

1. (Physiol.) The quality or state of being sensible, or capable of sensation; capacity to feel or perceive.

2. The capacity of emotion or feeling, as distinguished from the intellect and the will; peculiar susceptibility of impression, pleasurable or painful; delicacy of feeling; quick emotion or sympathy; as, sensibility to pleasure or pain; sensibility to shame or praise; exquisite sensibility; -- often used in the plural. "Sensibilities so fine!" --Cowper.

The true lawgiver ought to have a heart full of sensibility. --Burke.

His sensibilities seem rather to have been those of patriotism than of wounded pride. --Marshall.

3. Experience of sensation; actual feeling.

This adds greatly to my sensibility. --Burke.

4. That quality of an instrument which makes it indicate very slight changes of condition; delicacy; as, the sensibility of a balance, or of a thermometer.

Syn: Taste; susceptibility; feeling. See Taste.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : sensibility
Spanish: sensibilidad,
German: die Sensibilität,
Japanese: 感受性
More Translations »

Main Entry: sen·si·bil·i·ty
Pronunciation: "sen(t)-s&-'bil-&t-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
1 : ability to receive sensations sensibility> <sensibility to pain>
2 : awareness of and responsiveness toward something (asemotion in another)
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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sensibility sen·si·bil·i·ty (sěn'sə-bĭl'ĭ-tē)
n.

  1. The ability to perceive stimuli.
  2. Mental or emotional responsiveness toward something, such as the feelings of another.
  3. Receptiveness to impression, whether pleasant or unpleasant; acuteness of feeling.
  4. The quality of being affected by changes in the environment.

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