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sensuous

 - 3 dictionary results

sen⋅su⋅ous

[sen-shoo-uhs]
–adjective
1. perceived by or affecting the senses: the sensuous qualities of music.
2. readily affected through the senses: a sensuous temperament.
3. of or pertaining to sensible objects or to the senses.

Origin:
1630–40; < L sēnsu(s) sense + -ous


sen⋅su⋅ous⋅ly, adverb
sen⋅su⋅ous⋅ness, sen⋅su⋅os⋅i⋅ty [sen-shoo-os-i-tee] , noun


1. See sensual. 2. feeling, sensible. 3. sentient.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sen·su·ous   (sěn'shōō-əs)   
adj.  
  1. Of, relating to, or derived from the senses.

  2. Appealing to or gratifying the senses.

    1. Readily affected through the senses.

    2. Highly appreciative of the pleasures of sensation.

sen'su·os'i·ty (-ŏs'ĭ-tē), sen'su·ous·ness (-əs-nĭs) n., sen'su·ous·ly adv.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean of, given to, or furnishing satisfaction of the senses. Sensuous usually applies to the senses involved in aesthetic enjoyment, as of art or music: "The sensuous joy from all things fair/His strenuous bent of soul repressed" (John Greenleaf Whittier).
Sensual more often applies to the physical senses or appetites, particularly those associated with sexual pleasure: "Of music Dr. Johnson used to say that it was the only sensual pleasure without vice" (William Seward).
Luxurious suggests a surrender to physical comfort leading to a delightful feeling of well-being: stayed in a luxurious, flower-filled suite with a crystal chandelier and thick oriental rugs.
Voluptuous principally implies abandoning oneself to pleasures, especially sensual pleasures: "Lucullus . . . returned to Rome to lounge away the remainder of his days in voluptuous magnificence" (J.A. Froude).
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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Word Origin & History

sensuous 
1641, "pertaining to the senses" coined (from L. sensus) by Milton to recover the original meaning of sensual (q.v.) and avoid the lascivious connotation that the older word had acquired by Milton's day, but by 1870 sensuous, too, had begun down the same path. Rare before Coleridge popularized it (1814).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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