sensationallyadv.
/s(ɛ)nˈseɪʃn̩əli/, /s(ɛ)nˈseɪʃn̩l̩i/, /s(ɛ)nˈseɪʃənl̩i/, /s(ɛ)nˈseɪʃ(ə)nəli/, U.S. /sɛnˈseɪʃ(ə)nəli/, /sənˈseɪʃ(ə)nəli/ 1. With regard to sensation or feeling.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > [adverb]
affectively1646
sentimentallya1806
pathologically1824
pathematicallya1832
emotionally1836
emotively1843
sensationally1855
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [adverb] > physical sensation
sensuously1825
sensationally1855
1855 Circular (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 24 Oct. 1/3 To be nervous in a sickly, feminine way, is to be sensationally nervous.
1896 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 7 285 In ordinary perception we believe we perceive (as sensationally given) the whole.
1919 Proc. Musical Assoc. (44th Sess., 1917–18) 149 He is not always discreet or discriminating : he seizes upon things which appeal to him sensationally.
1965 Mind 74 275 When we ‘peel away’..all the learning and the layers of concepts that he has exercised.., there still remains something ‘perceptually or sensationally given’ to James.
2007 C. A. Howells in M. Dvořák & M. Jones Carol Shields & Extra-ordinary vi. 124 Larry is aware of himself not intellectually but sensationally as a body moving through space.
2. With regard to, or so as to provoke, a strong emotional response; in a manner intended to cause public excitement or interest; in a striking or remarkable way.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > ostentation > spectacular, sensational, or dramatic display > [adverb]
theatrically1647
dramatically1839
spectacularly1859
sensationally1860
1860 Frank Leslie's Illustr. Newspaper 22 Dec. 66/2 We must needs become fearfully and sensationally interested in matters of secondary importance.
1894 Rev. of Reviews (N.Y. ed.) Oct. 356/1 Saratoga..has been sensationally exposed in the newspapers as the most reckless..gambling resort of all this year's watering-places.
1920 Printers' Ink 27 May 170/2 Retailers have sensationally featured cut prices on well-known products for the evident purpose of attracting attention.
1978 P. Ramsey Ethics at Edges of Life (1980) iii. 94 Nor was Dr. Edelin acquitted of ‘manslaughter by abortion’ as Walter Cronkite sensationally and triumphally announced on national television news.
2005 New Yorker 5 Dec. 106/2 The St. Louis players gave sensationally crisp performances of Weberen's Concerto for Nine Instruments.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.1855