Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sensibility

/ˌsɛn(t)səˈbɪləti/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.20 in modern English

Syllables
sen-si-bil-i-ty
IPA
/ˌsɛn(t)səˈbɪləti/
16
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
5
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Emotions or feelings arising from or relating to aesthetic or moral standards, especially those which are sensitive and thus likely to be hurt or offended.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The ability to feel, perceive, or sense; responsiveness to sensory stimuli; sensitivity; also, the degree to which someone or something (especially a sensory organ or tissue) is able to respond to sensory stimuli.

Uncountable

noun

The quality of being easily affected by external forces or stimuli; also, of a measuring instrument: the quality of being able to detect small changes in the environment.

Uncountable

noun

Keen sensitivity to matters of creative expression or feeling; artistic or emotional awareness.

Uncountable

noun

Keen sensitivity to matters of creative expression or feeling; artistic or emotional awareness.

Archaic; Countable; Uncountable

noun

Awareness; also, understanding.

Archaic; Countable; Uncountable

noun

The capacity of something to be perceived by the senses; perceptibility.

Archaic; Countable; Uncountable

noun

Of a plant or one of its parts: the ability to move in response to a stimulus.

Archaic; Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Late Middle English sensibilite (“physical ability to sense or perceive; sensitivity to pain; type of perception by a sense organ; perception, understanding; image imprinted on the mind during perception; (philosophy) capacity of the soul to receive information from the senses, perceptibility; (in the plural) the senses”), from Middle French sensibilité and Old French sensibilité (“characteristic or state of being capable of sensation”) (modern French sensibilité), and from their etymon Late Latin sēnsibilitās (“intelligence; perception, sensation; sensitiveness; meaning or sense of words”), from Latin sēnsibilis (“detectable; perceptible, sensible”) (from sentiō (“to perceive with the senses, feel, sense; to be aware or sensible of; etc.”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sent- (“to perceive; to think”)) + -bilis (suffix forming adjectives denoting a capacity or worth of being acted upon)) + -tās (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting states of being). By surface analysis, sensible + -ity (suffix forming nouns). Sense 6 (“in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant: emotion or feeling as opposed to the will”) is a use of the word as a calque of German Sinnlichkeit (“receptivity and devotion to what is experienced by the senses; desire for or openness to eroticism, sensuality”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: sensibilite, sensibilité, sēnsibilitās, sēnsibilis, *sent-

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˌsɛn(t)səˈbɪləti/
  • British English: /ˌsɛn(t)sɪˈbɪlɪti/

Usage

Inflected Forms

sensibilities (plural)

Derived Forms

chemosensibility electrosensibility hypersensibility nonsensibility radiosensibility sensibilities sensibilitous supersensibility unsensibility

Frequently Paired Words

insensibility sense sensible

Synonyms

susceptibilities Empfindsamkeit sensitivity sensitiveness esthesia aesthesia

Antonyms

insensibility nonsensibility unsensibility

Rhymes With

facility stability disability liability inability credibility visibility sustainability eligibility instability vulnerability humility

Questions

How do you pronounce sensibility?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˌsɛn(t)səˈbɪləti/.
What does sensibility mean?
Emotions or feelings arising from or relating to aesthetic or moral standards, especially those which are sensitive and thus likely to be hurt or offended.
Where does sensibility come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce sensibility

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “sensibility”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌsɛn(t)səˈbɪləti/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “sensibility”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “sensibility” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.