sensationn.
/s(ɛ)nˈseɪʃn/, U.S. /sɛnˈseɪʃən/, /sənˈseɪʃən/ 1. † c. An instance of direct observation by means of the senses. Obsolete. rare.† d. The effect produced on the senses; appearance, impression. Obsolete. rare.
a. A physical feeling; spec. a mental state resulting from a stimulus operating on any of the senses or from a condition of part of the body. Cf. sense n. 23.Frequently with of and a noun denoting the nature of the sensation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [noun] > physical sensation > a physical sensation
feelinga1425
feelc1485
sense1547
sensation1557
impressure1607
impressa1616
impression1632
sense perception1846
1557 H. Iden tr. G. B. Gelli Circes vii. sig. N.ij All the orgaynes, and members, wherin the sensations [It. sensationi] are made, muste be cleane voyde, and naked of al ther obiects, forasmuch as no thing can take agayne, that that it hathe.
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 525 Finally, that our Motions and Sensations should not be rash or phanaticall as they are in such as are phreneticall, that is, haue their braines inflamed.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. iii. 8 Their understanding..submitteth unto the fallacies of sence, and is unable to rectifie the error of its sensations . View more context for this quotation
1666 R. Boyle Origine Formes & Qualities 55 That is enough to produce in us that Sensation we call Heat; which is so much a Relative to the Sensory which apprehends it, that we see, that the same Lukewarm Water..will appear hot to one of a Man's hands, if That be very cold.
1759 W. Porterfield Treat. Eye II. 343 The smallest or most refrangible Rays will excite the shortest and weakest Vibrations for making a Sensation of deep Violet.
1785 T. Reid Ess. Intellect. Powers 599 When I grasp an ivory ball in my hand, I feel a certain sensation of touch.
1804 J. Abernethy Surg. Observ. 192 He said his sensations were such as would induce him to believe that his brain was loose.
a1836 R. Williams Medicine in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) VII. 544/2 An uneasy sensation and tension of the præcordia.
1868 Anthropol. Rev. 6 337 He [sc. Avicenna] also assumed nine animal faculties; five of which corresponded to the number of the external senses from which the mind receives its sensations.
1892 A. Bierce In Midst of Life 23 The familiar sensation of an abraded shin recalled his dazed faculties.
1906 Jrnl. Philos., Psychol. & Sci. Methods 3 108 We have to distinguish among organic sensations the affective, i.e., visceral and cutaneous painful and thermal, and the non-affective, i.e., sensorial, tactile and external motor.
1968 New Eng. Jrnl. Med. 21 Mar. 670/2 During the month before entry the dyspnea progressed in severity, with the development of a hacking, nonproductive cough, fever, chilly sensations and sweats.
1999 C. B. Inlander et al. Over-the-counter Doctor (rev. ed.) 115/2 Gels deliver a greater sensation of warmth than lotions or ointments.
2004 W. S. Robinson Understanding Phenomenal Consciousness i. 5 Bodily sensations, e.g., pain, itch, sexual pleasantness, or nausea, do not present ‘after sensations’.
b. The action, process, or faculty of sensing; the operation of the senses; physical feeling.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [noun] > physical sensation
feelinga1225
witc1290
sentimentc1374
perceivinga1398
scentc1422
feelc1450
sensation1598
aesthesis1601
sensing1613
sensity1613
resentment1634
perceptiona1652
scenting1657
sensating1666
awaring1674
sensitivity1819
sense perception1846
sentition1865
1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Frenche Chirurg. f. 51/1v Seinge that man is tender of fleshe & farre more subiected vnder the domination, & subiectione of the Moone, & the influences therof, then those thinges, which are inanimate & have nether life, nor sensation [Fr. les chesnes durs, & insensibles].
1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. H2 O sunken souls, slaves of sensation.
1677 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. III iii. i. iv. 86 As it now appears, science is nothing else than sensation, or a particular experimental feeling knowledge.
1739 D. Hume Treat. Human Nature I. i. 22 Impressions may be divided into two kinds, those of Sensation and those of Reflexion.
1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab i. 2 Or is it only a sweet slumber Stealing o'er sensation?
1876 H. Maudsley Physiol. of Mind iv. 221 Sensation expresses merely the state of simple feeling, without reference to an external cause.
1901 A. Besant Thought Power 47 The Thinker is the father, Sensation the mother, Thought the child.
1961 W. C. Booth Rhetoric of Fiction iii. xi. 324 Various stream-of-consciousnesses that attempt to give the reader an effect of living thought and sensation.
2015 New Indian Express (Nexis) 30 May It is the desire for sensation that makes us cling to music.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [noun] > faculty of sensation > a sense
witOE
sensibility?a1425
sense?1504
sensation1657
1657 J. Sergeant Schism Dispach't 104 The testimony of others founded in their several sensations being faithfully conveyed to us by undeniable Tradition, are as unquestionably certain as if we had seen them ourselves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > appearance or aspect > [noun]
onseneeOE
bleea1000
shapeOE
ylikeOE
laitc1175
semblanta1225
sightc1275
fare1297
showingc1300
specea1325
parelc1330
guise1340
countenance1362
semblance?a1366
apparel1377
regardc1380
apparencec1384
imagec1384
spicec1384
overseeminga1398
kenninga1400
seemingc1400
visage1422
rinda1450
semenauntc1450
'pearance1456
outwardc1475
representation1489
favour?a1500
figurea1522
assemblant1523
prospect?1533
respect1535
visure1545
perceiverance1546
outwardshine1549
view1556
species1559
utter-shape1566
look1567
physiognomy1567
face1572
paintry1573
visor1575
mienc1586
superficies?1589
behaviour1590
aspect1594
complexion1597
confrontment1604
show1604
aira1616
beseeminga1616
formality1615
resemblancea1616
blush1620
upcomea1630
presentment1637
scheme1655
sensation1662
visibility1669
plumage1707
facies1727
remark1748
extrinsica1797
exterior1801
showance1820
the cut of one's jib1823
personnel1839
personal appearance1842
what-like1853
look-see1898
outwall1933
visuality1938
prosopon1947
1662 J. Evelyn Sculptura sig. b7 How to express the sensation of the Relievo or Extancie of objects, by the Hatches in Graving.
1664 R. Boyle Exper. & Considerations Colours ii. 10 Colour may be considered, either as it is a quality residing in the body that is said to be coloured, or to modifie the light after such or such a manner; or else as the Light it self, which so modifi'd, strikes upon the organ of sight, and so causes that Sensation which we call Colour.
e. An unusual feeling, without an obvious causative stimulus, which precedes or forms part of an epileptic seizure. Cf. aura n. 4.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > convulsive or paralytic disorders > [noun] > fit or stroke > epilepsy > premonitory symptom
aura1783
sensation1822
vapours1822
cry1843
narcolepsy1880
1822 J. M. Good Study Med. III. 539 The most usual sensation is that of the ascent of a cold creeping vapour from some particular part of the body.
1859 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 10 Dec. 995/1 A man, aged 20, is subject to sudden attacks of peculiar sensations, seldom continuing so long as two minutes.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VII. 770 Attacks [of epilepsy] may consist only of the ‘warning’ or ‘sensation’... This has led to the popular use of the word ‘sensation’ as a synonym for the minor attacks.
1973 J. A. Waller Med. Impairment to Driving vi. 37 Petit mal seizures are characterized clinically by attacks of impaired consciousness lasting two to fifteen seconds and rarely associated with any sensation or aura.
1997 R. M. Sapolsky Trouble with Testosterone (1998) 26 Neurologists have known for a long time that just before the onset of a seizure there will often be a strange sensation, or ‘aura’.
f. Cutaneous sensibility, esp. when used as an indicator of the functioning of the nervous system.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [noun]
passibilitya1398
passibleness?a1425
sensibleness?a1425
sensibility?c1425
sense1538
perceptibility1642
sensitiveness1651
passivity1664
aesthesia1829
sentience1839
sentiencya1850
sensitivity1856
sensation1869
1869 Lancet 18 Dec. 842/2 The woman is of an older age than in other described cases [of scleroderma]. The sensation seemed not to be impaired.
1915 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 30 Jan. 192/2 Only one case of shell shock has come under my observation. A Belgian officer was the victim... He presented practically complete loss of sensation in the lower extremities.
1949 H. W. C. Vines Green's Man. Pathol. (ed. 17) xviii. 478 Where sensation in a limb is lost, movement is uncontrolled and inco-ordinated.
2004 New Scientist 12 June 12/2 All patients fell into the most severe spinal injury category, called ASIA-A. This is defined as having no sensation or ability to move below the site of injury.
2. † a. Mental apprehension or awareness; (also) an instance of this, an awareness or impression. Frequently with of. Obsolete except as merged with sense 2b.† c. Capacity for moral feeling. Obsolete. rare.† d. An opinion. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > [noun] > understanding, comprehension > of something
intelligencec1429
sense1483
understanding1548
resentmenta1638
sensationa1659
conception1796
a1659 F. Rous Aspirations of Student in Academia Cœlestis (1702) 157 To have a continual Sensation of Thee.
1690 J. Lambe Dialogue between Minister & Parishioner conc. Lord's Supper 80 The Pious and Regenerate have an inward sensation of things Intellectual and Divine.
1753 W. Hogarth Anal. Beauty xi. 82 The nice sensation we naturally have of what certain quantities..are fittest to produce the utmost strength for moving..great weights.
1775 S. Johnson Taxation no Tyranny 9 Those who look but little into futurity, have perhaps the quickest sensation of the present.
1817 S. T. Coleridge Biographia Literaria I. iv. 85 Therefore is it the prime merit of genius..so to represent familiar objects as to awaken..freshness of sensation.
1864 W. Bagehot in National Rev. Apr. 549 Men of ordinary nerves who feel a little of the pains of society, who perceive what really passes,..could well observe how keen was Thackeray's sensation of common events.
b. An emotion; the feeling characteristic of a particular circumstance or situation. Frequently with of.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > [noun] > an emotion
affection?c1225
passiona1250
motionc1390
feelinga1413
feelc1485
motivec1485
stirring1552
emotive1596
emotion1602
resentment1622
sentiment1652
sensation1674
flavour1699
aftertaste1702
pathy1837
1674 J. Howe Treat. Delighting in God i. 149 There are sensations of Delight and pleasure in Religion.
1699 Ld. Shaftesbury Inq. conc. Virtue ii. 158 The asswaging of the most torturous Grief and pressing sensation of Misery.
1755 J. Shebbeare Lydia IV. cxxix. 235 I feel a Sensation of Distress in my Bosom which is intolerable.
1760 S. Johnson Idler 15 Mar. 81 She smiles not by Sensation but by Practice.
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth III. xv. 309 All other sensations were, for the time, lost in the agony which his haughty spirit felt.
1883 F. M. Peard Contradictions I. iii. 40 ‘At last I have realized a dream’, she said. ‘Do you know the sensation?’
1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xiii. 128 Again that sudden sensation of startling sweetness thrilled her.
1989 A. Brookner Lewis Percy iv. 57 He had no sensation of being attracted to Tissy Harper.
2005 S. Ross Nostradamus for Dummies 70 It's the kind of eye rolling, overwhelming sensation of happiness and perfection you get when you eat something very delicious.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > capacity for emotion > sensitiveness or tenderness > [noun]
feeling?c1400
tendernessc1440
heart1557
nicety1583
toucha1586
apprehension1605
tender-heartedness1607
sensibility1609
sensibleness1613
acuteness1644
exquisiteness1650
susceptivity1722
sensation1744
soul1748
susceptibility1753
sensitivity1773
sensitiveness1788
affettuoso1791
sensibilité1817
soulfulness1842
mild-heartedness1849
susceptiveness1873
sensitivism1877
tender-mindedness1907
1744 S. Johnson Deb. Senate Lilliput in Gentleman's Mag. Feb. 70 He has undoubtedly a most passionate Love for his native Country, a Passion, which a Man of any Sensation can hardly divest himself of.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > [noun]
weenc888
doomc900
advicec1300
wonec1300
opiniona1325
sentence1340
sight1362
estimationc1374
witc1374
assent1377
judgementa1393
supposinga1393
mindc1400
reputationc1400
feelingc1425
suffrage1531
counta1535
existimation1535
consent1599
vote1606
deem1609
repute1610
judicaturea1631
estimate1637
measure1650
sentiment1675
account1703
sensation1795
think1835
1795 T. Jefferson Let. 31 Dec. in Papers (2000) XXVIII. 567 You would of course however wish to know the sensations here on those facts.
3. † b. A strong emotion (e.g. fear, excitement, or shock) provoked by a particular situation, event, experience, etc. Obsolete.
a. A widespread reaction of interest and excitement; a state or display of strong emotion (e.g. admiration, surprise, or horror) among a large group of people in response to a person, thing, event, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > excitement > public excitement > [noun]
motiona1387
humour1579
mania1689
scene1764
sensation1765
agitation1769
1765 tr. A. Goudar Chinese Spy I. xliv. 150 This diversion, to excite any great sensation [Fr. sensation], must make one sick.
1779 Earl of Malmesbury Diaries & Corr. I. 257 What had passed already caused a great sensation in foreign Courts.
1808 Naval Chron. 20 31 His proposed measure of changing the mode of collecting the assessed taxes..would have caused a sensation in this kingdom of more powerful advantage to Buonaparte than all that his troops could possibly affect.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xvii. 46 The sensation produced by this work was immense.
1885 H. Caine Shadow of Crime III. xlii. 87 Amid much sensation, the witness gave the name of the Sheriff of Cumberland.
1948 Sporting Mirror 21 May 14/3 Watch out for a first class sensation to break out about a certain British javelin thrower before long.
1978 P. Buhle & M. J. Buhle Conc. Hist. Woman Suffrage 11 An initial public sensation against women speakers fades in many places into semi-tolerant amusement.
2012 R. K. Haldane Gold-Mining Boomtown 36 She must have caused a sensation among her Dunkard relatives, sweeping about in silks.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > excitement > [noun]
excitation1393
motiona1398
concitation1534
erectiona1586
fermentationc1660
effervescence1744
effervescency1767
intumescence1775
electricity1796
electrization1798
sensation1807
electrification1835
bubblement1842
excitement1846
suscitation1870
exuberation1889
splash1899
rousedness1915
adrenaline1928
drama1930
the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > effect produced on emotions > [noun] > strong
sensation1807
sock1936
zap1968
society > leisure > the arts > literature > art or occupation of writer or author > [noun] > effects produced by work
effect1736
sensation1807
1807 Z. M. Pike Jrnl. 2 Apr. in Acct. Exped. Sources Mississippi (1810) iii. 237 He..appeared to be more agitated than ourselves, although we may be supposed to have also had our sensations.
1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede III. vi. lii. 284 He..was free from that periodicity of sensations which we call post-time.
1870 J. R. Lowell Rousseau in Among my Bks. 1st Ser. 346 [Petrarch was] an intellectual voluptuary, a moral dilletante, the first instance of that character, since too common, the gentleman in search of a sensation.
1905 C. Whitney Jungle Trails xi. 303 I knew it was a tiger..; and as the jerky roar grew nearer and nearer, I stood there having sensations—I do assure you.
c. A person, thing, event, etc., that provokes widespread interest and excitement.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > quality of inspiring wonder > [noun] > event
wonderc950
miraclec1390
marl1604
phenomenon1741
weird1814
sensation1860
masterpiece1933
wipeout1968
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > [noun] > one who or that which is successful > that which is successful > great or sensational
trophy?a1450
triumph1735
succès fou1859
sensation1860
home run1913
whizz-bang1916
wow1920
smash1923
smash hit1923
wham1923
smasheroo1948
1860 Christian Examiner Sept. 226 A new poem by Scott, Byron, or Moore, was the literary sensation of the day.
1884 St. James's Gaz. 29 Nov. 6 The sensation of a London season was the appearance of a new ballerina in a new ballet.
1946 S. T. Felstead Stars who made Halls v. 46 Zozo, the human cannon-ball, was a vast London sensation in the 'eighties.
1989 V. S. Pritchett Chekhov xii. 155 The Peasants was a sensation when it was published. Chekhov's mastery was recognized by all the critics.
2008 Indianapolis Monthly Sept. 180/2 Bring the kids to the Zoo for a performance by young singing sensation Jordan Pruitt as she hosts this annual kick-off to fall.
d. As a mass noun: (the provocation of) strong emotional response to lurid, shocking, or thrilling material in fiction, film, the media, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > vigour or force > [noun] > sensationalizing > sensationalism
sensation1862
sensationalism1862
sensationism1862
gee-whizzery1961
1862 Oxf. Mag. June 279 The public must have Sensation; the public must be amused; the public must have its fancies, its whims, humoured and indulged. And verily enough there are in all branches of literature and art those who are willing to tickle it.
1890 Friends' Intelligencer & Jrnl. 25 Oct. 686/1 One must turn to the daily press for undeniable proof of the insatiable appetite for sensation which characterizes our time.
1925 Jrnl. Amer. Judicature Soc. Feb. 136/1 Such papers may be said to be purveyors of sensation more than of news.
1956 New Outlook Feb. 46/2 We require sensation, action, sound and fury for we live in a society so full of the frustration of our deepest, creative potentialities that only distraction can keep us from the dismaying realization of our inner poverty.
2013 D. R. Mayhew in M. Dean Democracy under Attack p. xi On the media side, Dean sees a growing bent for sensation, scandal-mongering, pack journalism and adversarial coverage.
4. colloquial (chiefly Scottish). A small quantity or amount, esp. of alcohol; a ‘taste’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount
speckc725
littleOE
somethingc1200
lutewihtc1230
little whatc1384
ouncec1387
lap1393
smalla1400
modicumc1400
nekedc1400
spota1413
tinec1420
nieveful?a1425
handfulc1443
mouthful?c1450
smatchc1456
weec1480
quern1503
halfpennyworth1533
groatsworth1562
dram1566
shellful1578
trickle1580
snatch1592
sprinkling1594
fleck1598
snip1598
pittance1600
lick1603
fingerful1604
modicum1606
thimbleful1607
flash1614
dasha1616
pipa1616
pickle1629
drachm1635
cue1654
smack1693
starn1720
bit1753
kenning1787
minikin1787
tate1805
starnie1808
sprat1815
harl1821
skerrick1825
smallums1828
huckleberry1832
scrimp1840
thimble1841
smite1843
nattering1859
sensation1859
spurt1859
pauchlea1870
mention1891
sketch1894
sputterings1894
scrappet1901
titch1937
tad1940
skosh1959
smattering1973
1859 F. Fowler Southern Lights 52 A Sensation. [i.e.] Half-a-glass of sherry.
1895 Earl of Dunmore Ormisdal xvi. 203 Just a small sensation—only two fingers, and one more finger of water!
1957 C. MacKenzie Rockets Galore iv. 55 ‘You'll take a wee sensation?’ The priest..busied himself at a cupboard, from which he extracted the sensation.
1974 R. McMillan Bevellers 15 Norrie, just gie the brush the least wee sensation on the wheel there.
1994 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 10 Oct. 16 It is now nightfall, the time when any self-respecting supporter's thoughts turn to taking a small sensation.
Compounds
C1. attributive, with the sense ‘provoking, or intended to provoke, a strong emotional response; lurid, melodramatic’ (see sense 3b). Now chiefly historical.
ΚΠ
1858 Independent (N.Y.) 1 July 8/1 Needy letter-writers, fierce for a sensation-paragraph.
1869 Nation (N.Y.) 23 Dec. 559/2 Sensation stories, sensation illustrated papers, and all the swarm of trivial, sickly, and rascally literature.
1920 A. H. Thorndike Lit. in Changing Age 30 In this ‘sensation fiction’,..we have a great success in meeting the popular demand under modern conditions.
1980 D. Bradby et al. Performance Politics in Pop. Drama 285 The News..provides one of our contemporary equivalents of the melodrama sensation-scene.
2014 K. J. Jacobson in J. A. Williamson et al. Sentimental Mode 162 Like Jo March's sensation stories, McNulty's fictional serial killer brings in needed money.
C2.
a. Objective with agent nouns, verbal nouns, and participial adjectives, and instrumental, as sensation-giving, sensation-hungry, sensation-monger, sensation-mongering, etc.
ΚΠ
1842 Athenæum 16 Apr. 340/2 An interest..less morbid than the mere sensation-seeker craves.
1860 Lowell (Mass.) Daily Citizen & News 16 Apr. Some of the sensation-mongers of Boston took it into their heads, a few days ago, to get up another alarm at old Concord.
1885 Outing June 369/1 Unduly embittered and intensified by sensation-hungry harpies of the daily press.
1937 Jrnl. Educ. Sociol. 10 520 He spends it, plus some hard-earned money, in a sensation-giving activity that satisfies for the moment but leaves him as empty of real enjoyment as he was before he had so much leisure.
1951 A. Koestler Age of Longing v. 86 She was sorry to disappoint the expectations of sensation-hungry journalists.
1990 F. Tustin Protective Shell in Children & Adults 107 At first, basic sensation-giving materials such as sand, water, clay, and plasticine or playdough are likely to be used much more by autistic children than are toys.
2009 M. Podritske Objectively Speaking 72 There will always be sensation-mongering newspapers that attempt to exaggerate the accusations and do injustice to the defendant.
b.
sensation seeker n.
ΚΠ
1842Sensation-seeker [see Compounds 2a].
1976 D. Francis In Frame i. 21 All day..cars..disgorged crowds of reporters, photographers and plain sensation-seekers.
2004 Rowing News Aug. 56/2 Rowing is not an extreme sport. Rowers are not sensation seekers.
sensation-seeking adj. and n.
ΚΠ
1864 Independent (N.Y.) 18 Aug. 1/2 The sensation-seeking novelty-loving denizens of great towns.
1923 R. Macaulay Told by Idiot iv. 296 It was a queer affair, born of the emotionalism and sensation-seeking that beset many people at that time.
2015 M. Horsley Dark Side of Prosperity viii. 143 The solipsistic, sensation-seeking character of late modernity.
C3.
sensation cell n. now rare a nerve cell that responds to a stimulus or processes such responses; a sensory neuron; cf. sense cell n. at sense n. Compounds 3.
ΚΠ
1880 Med. & Surg. Reporter 20 Nov. 444/1 And if the cortical centres of sensation are large and active as well as the cortical centres of motion, then it must happen that the exalted activity of the sensation cells would tend to augment the activity of the motor-cells.
1969 Currents Mod. Biol. 3 56/2 The preceding sensation is also loaded at cycle 6 to allow selection and reservation of sensation cells.
2004 A. D. Fisk et al. Designing for Older Adults ii. 13 Perception is used here to refer to the activation of the sensation cells, such as the retinal cells, and to the interpretation of that information by calling on stored memory.
sensation drama n. now historical a drama depicting lurid, shocking, or thrilling material, a melodrama; (also) such works as a genre.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > a melodrama
melodrame?1795
melodrama1804
sensation drama1858
Guignol1882
melo1889
drama1895
Grand Guignol1905
1858 N.Y. Times 2 Feb. 4/6 That remarkable sensation-drama called ‘Birds of Prey’.
1903 T. A. Brown Hist. N.Y. Stage II. 491 Bartley Campbell's first attempt at play writing was in 1871 when he composed a sensation drama.
2010 K. Newey in F. O'Gorman Cambr. Compan. Victorian Culture vii. 131 Sensation drama broke new ground for English writing, by introducing complex female protagonists caught in morally ambiguous situations.
sensation level n. the magnitude of an auditory sensation in relation to an absolute threshold of perception; a measurement of this; (in later use also) the magnitude of the physical intensity of an auditory stimulus (measured in decibels).
ΚΠ
1922 Physical Rev. 20 335 The question arises, does the pressure-ratio at balance vary with the absolute sensation level?
1985 Child Devel. 56 616/2 The use of sensation level assumes that equal decibel increments above threshold have equal sensory effects.
2002 R. Plomp Intelligent Ear iii. 35 Tone pulses of 4,000 Hz, duration 60 msec, sensation level 60 dB, alternating with tone pulses of 3,000 Hz, duration 40 msec, sensation level 45 dB.
sensation novel n. [compare French roman à sensation (1863)] now historical a novel written to provoke a strong emotional response in the reader, featuring material which is lurid, shocking, or thrilling.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > novel > [noun] > sensational novel or thriller
sensation novel1856
penny dreadful1861
dime novel1864
curdler1872
dreadful1874
blood and thunder1876
penny awful1880
shilling dreadful1885
thrill1886
thriller1889
blood1892
terror novel1896
penny horrible1899
spine-thriller1912
roman noir1926
spine-chiller1940
scorcher1942
spine-tingler1942
spine-freezer1960
1856 N.Y. Times 12 Sept. 4 We shall have an opportunity to discover how some of the ‘Sensation novels’..sell, after getting cool.
1951 Economist 17 Nov. 1185/3 Wilkie Collins, master of the sensation-novel.
2015 V. Shea & W. Whitla Victorian Lit. 91/1 The sensation novel as a genre emerged in the 1860s with works by Braddon, Wilkie Collins.., and Charles Reade.
sensation novelist n. now historical a writer of sensation novels.
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society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > novel > [noun] > sensational novel or thriller > writer of
sensation novelist1859
thriller-writer1925
1859 Kenosha (Wisconsin) Times 2 June 1/6 Here is an excellent item for our sensation novelists.
1932 Q. D. Leavis Fiction & Reading Public ii. iv. 154 Mrs. Radcliffe makes an appeal less to the nerves than to the imagination... The sensation novelists make a brute assault on the feelings and nerves in quite another way.
2009 Victorian Stud. 52 86 Most sensation novelists were connected to the press in one way or another.
sensation unit n. now chiefly historical a dimensionless unit used to measure the magnitude of a sensation, esp. an auditory sensation, above an absolute threshold of perception (one sensation unit corresponding to the least perceptible change in magnitude of the sensation).
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1887 S. Bryant Educational Ends ii. iv. 199 The problem can only be solved indirectly,..by choice of an object yielding a sensation-unit of the quality, and ascertaining the number of these necessary to produce the same sensational effect as the object yielding the degree of quality to be measured.
1894 J. E. Creighton & E. B. Titchener tr. W. M. Wundt Lect. Human & Animal Psychol. iii. 35 How great must a given stimulus be made, in order that the sensation may increase by a definite number of sensation units?
1926 Arch. Otolaryngology Feb. 109 The intensity of the tones in the vacuum tube audiometers are usually given in terms of absolute energy or extrapolations of these values in terms of sensation units.
1962 Science 14 Dec. 1274/3 In both scales the basic assumption is that the sum of jnd's [= just-noticeable differences] (sensation units) equals a sensation magnitude.
2002 E. A. Thompson Soundscape of Modernity (2004) iv. 148 The noisiest spot measured by Free was one of the city's busiest traffic intersections, at 34th Street and Sixth Avenue, with a noise level of 55 sensation units.
sensation writing n. now historical writing which aims to provoke a strong emotional response, featuring material which is lurid, shocking, or thrilling.
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1859 Manch. Guardian 7 Apr. 2/6 What is called ‘sensation’ writing by our cousins of the West.
1952 H. McMahon Crit. Fiction 40 We find an earnest attempt to establish for the novel a structure that will replace the melodramatic plot of sensation writing.
2015 G. Pope Reading London's Suburbs 52 Ghost stories and sensation writing emphasise a problem with vision as a problem with the materiality of the suburb.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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