| 释义 |
sensibleadj.n.adv. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French sensible; Latin sensibilis. Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman sencible, Anglo-Norman and Middle French, French sensible designating the faculty of sensation (1265 in Old French in ame sensible ), having the faculty of sensation or sense perception (1314, originally with reference to a nerve), perceptible by the senses (c1320), acutely felt (beginning of the 15th cent. or earlier), emotionally conscious (1610 in the passage translated in quot. 1614 at sense A. 13, or earlier), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin sensibilis capable of being apprehended by the senses, perceptible, capable of sensation, in post-classical Latin also endowed with perception, intelligent (4th cent.), carnal, sensual (13th cent. or earlier) < sens- , past participial stem of sentīre to perceive, feel (see sentient adj.) + -ibilis -ible suffix. Compare Catalan sensible (14th cent.), Spanish sensible (end of the 13th cent.), Portuguese sensível (14th cent.), Italian sensibile (beginning of the 14th cent.), all in a similar range of senses. With use as noun compare post-classical Latin sensibile (neuter) the sentient part of a human being (4th cent.), sensibilia (neuter plural) things that are perceptible by the senses, material things (4th or 5th cent.). Compare sensibility n., sensitive adj. (which shows considerable semantic overlap), and (with use as adverb) sensibly adv.With later specific senses in branch A. II., compare similar uses of Middle French, French sensible in senses ‘susceptible to specific ideas’ (1559), ‘(of a person) that reacts strongly to physical stimuli’ (c1590), ‘easily affected by emotions’ (1643). With β. forms compare -able suffix, and also Anglo-Norman sensable. A. adj. I. That can be perceived by the mind or intellect, or by the senses. the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > [adjective] the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > effect produced on emotions > [adjective] > strong or deep society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > vigour or force > [adjective] a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) vii. l. 127 (MED) The feith of holi cherche..in som cas upon believe Stant more than thei conne prieve Be weie of Argument sensible. ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac (Hunterian) f. 42 (MED) Þe anothomie of hem [sc. parts of the head] schal ben treted in eiȝte chapiters after þe diuisioun of þe gretter partikels of amannes bodie, be cause þat sucche sensibel diuisioun is moste open. c1475 (Trin. Cambr.) (1927) l. 260 (MED) Ryght sensyble and preygnaunt for your part Ys that straunge argument. 1532 L. Cox Ep. Ded. sig. A.iiv To be techers of goddes worde in suche maner as may be moost sensible & accepte to theyr audience. a1568 R. Ascham (1570) ii. f. 37v He..therefore imployed thereunto a fitte, sensible, and caulme kinde of speaking and writing. 1644 J. Lightfoot x. 198 That a full and cleere, yea, even a sensible demonstration of the Trinity might bee made at this beginning of the Gospel. 1684 R. Waller tr. Pref. sig. bv Wherefore he judges it an Undertaking worthy of his great Mind to confront with the most Acurate, and sensible Experiments, the force of their Assertions. 1715 J. T. Desaguliers tr. N. Gauger 22 If such a Tube be bent, the Experiment will be much more sensible. 1744 J. Harris ii. vi. 97 The Ideas therefore,of Poetry must needs make the most sensible Impression, when the Affections, peculiar to them, are already excited by the Music. 1795 W. Winterbotham vii. 331 Declaring, in a sensible and striking manner, the infinite distance which is between the Supreme Being and man. 1825 I. 112 Silence being at length procured, Mr. Kemble proceeded to defend himself in a sensible address. 2. a. Perceptible by or through the senses. In Philosophy often opposed to intelligible (intelligible adj. 2).the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > ability to be perceived by senses > [adjective] a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. iii. xiii. 102 He knowiþ sensibil þinges [L. res materiales] present and absent by here owne material schappis. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. cv. 1255 Þough he [sc. a moth] be a sensible beste [L. sensibile animal], ȝit he hydeþ himself wiþinne þe cloþ þat vnneþe he is yseye. ?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius (BL Add. 10340) (1868) v. pr. iv. l. 4798 For it [sc. intelligence] knoweþ þe vniuersite of resoun and þe figure of þe ymaginacioun and þe sensible material [L. materiale sensibile] conseiued. R. Misyn tr. R. Rolle 2 When I felt fyrst my hert wax warme, and treuly, not ymagynyngly, bot als it wer with sensibyll fyer, byrned. a1535 T. More Treat. Passion in (1557) 1344/1 The sanctifying of the misticall sacrifice, and the translacion or chaunging of it from thynges sensible to thynges intelligible. 1557 J. Gwynneth xxvii. f. 49v We may vnderstande his immortall body to be sensible, that is to say, visible, palpable. 1621 D. Widdowes tr. W. A. Scribonius 6 Fixed are the starres of the firmament, whose motion is not, sensible. 1690 J. Locke iii. ii. 187 The use then of Words, is to be sensible Marks of Ideas. 1732 J. Arbuthnot i. 255 Taste and other sensible Qualities. 1794 R. Kirwan (ed. 2) I. 2 The other sensible appearances of earths. a1807 W. Wordsworth (1959) xiii. 486 In a world of life they live, By sensible impressions not enthrall'd. 1865 G. Grote I. i. 10 Some primordial and fundamental nature, by and out of which the sensible universe was built up and produced. 1948 H. J. Paton 239 This understanding..is closely bound up with sense and is directed to the knowing of sensible objects. 1985 O. Sacks vii. 68 We have five senses in which we glory and which we recognise and celebrate, senses that constitute the sensible world for us. 2007 R. Pasnau in H. Lagerlund et al. iii. 41 The concept of curved..can be abstracted..from even a generalized conception of sensible matter. 1542 T. Elyot at Dyastole A lyftyng or rysyng vp of the harte,..sensible to feele by the poulses. 1567 T. Gale tr. Galen De Tumoribus preter Naturam viii, in 368 The motion of the artery, is sensible to vs without pcine [sic]. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. i. 36 Art thou not fatall Vision, sensible To feeling, as to sight? or art thou but A Dagger of the Minde. View more context for this quotation 1660 J. Tombes viii. 216 Christian Doctrine doth not consist in the History of the things sensible to the eye. 1733 J. Arbuthnot i. 1 Air is sensible to the Touch by its Motion, and by its Resistance to Bodies moved in it. 1799 3 380 The ear..becomes more sensible to the vibrations of sound. a1854 H. Reed (1878) i. 36 All of earth and sky that..is sensible to us. 1875 A. J. Ellis tr. H. L. F. von Helmholtz ii. 51 To each such single simple vibration corresponds a simple tone, sensible to the ear. 1906 W. M. Binns 84 The gilding is..thickly laid on and sensible to the touch. 1960 ‘A. Burgess’ xxiii. 188 Edwin..examined the stranger's bald scalp with care. Something was growing there, too: a kind of fluff sensible to the touch. 2003 E. D. Harvey i. 20 A woven web of texture sensible to the touch. the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [adjective] > of or relating to physical sensation ?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena (Harl.) (1966) 354 Þe sencible feelyng sleepiþ in a parfiȝt soule, but it dieþ not. 1533 tr. Erasmus v. sig. D.vv Those thynges whiche be perceyued with reason onely, and not of the sensible powers. 1603 W. Shakespeare i. i. 55 I might not this beleeue, without the sensible and true auouch of my owne eyes. 1653 N. Homes iii. iv. 399 Our reason shall not be covered, nor cumbred with errour, and mistakes, and sensible desires. 1716 D. Ryder 7 Aug. (1939) (modernized text) 291 To win them from sensible enjoyments and make them grow very little fond of life. 1793 T. Beddoes 43 It is impossible to convince such an objector, by direct sensible testimony. 1819 J. Macphail (ed. 2) i. 1 It seems that vegetables have no sensible feeling or instinct to induce them to use means to preserve life. 1878 W. H. Hill v. 98 The sensible appetite, within certain limits, is obedient to reason. 1980 J. A. Massey tr. L. Feuerbach 51 The character of experience exists clearly in sensible desire and enjoyment. 2015 C. S. Sevier iii. 47 More people seek sensible pleasures than intellectual ones. the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > emotional perception > [adjective] > perceptible emotionally c1485 ( G. Hay (1993) xviii. 85 The wit of the man is sa noble..yat all thing yat god and nature has maid is till him sensible and sauourable be way of resoun. 1517 W. Atkinson tr. iv. xiiii. sig. C.iii The greate desyre of thys holy sacrament & sensible loue of hert myght nat conteyne ne witholde them from wepynge. 1597 T. Morley 100 This waie is so well, as I perceiue no sensible fault in it. 1623 in L. B. Taylor (1942) I. 212 So cleir sensibill and inevitabill evilles and inconveniences. 1679 R. Fleming ii. 19 What a present and sensible reliefe is here in Love, Humility, Meekness, Patience and Hope. 1701 Acct. Life in T. Stanley (ed. 3) Introd. sig. c2 He affirms that it bears sensible Marks of its Newness. 1782 J. Brown v. v. 498 Sensible assurance of God's love. 1835 C. Hodge vii. 274 Conversion is a great change; sensible to him that experiences it, and visible to others. 1875 H. E. Manning iv. 104 But the love of God does not mean..the sensible love which we feel towards human friends. 1908 J. McQuirk lx. 325 Sorrow which seems more intense, because sensible, than that which is essential to Contrition. 1997 T. M. Lennon & P. J. Olscamp tr. N. Malebranche v. i. 337 Men are capable of a certain sensible love or hatred only because they are capable of a spiritual love or hatred. the world > health and disease > ill health > pain > [adjective] > causing pain the mind > emotion > suffering > mental anguish or torment > [adjective] > severe 1502 tr. (de Worde) v. iii. sig. oov The fourth is vnto ye regarde of lytell chyldren ye whiche ben deed in orygynall synne, The whiche shall be in ye fyre of hell wtout suffrynge payne sensyble [Fr. peine sensible]. 1594 W. Shakespeare sig. M1 My woe too sencible thy passion maketh More feeling painfull. 1640 tr. G. S. du Verdier iii. ix. 34 The fall of this young Prince..was so sensible to the Emperour, that had he not feared the anger of Brustafard..the Jousts had been at an end. 1655 E. Terry 122 Scorpions..whose stinging is most sensible, and deadly. 1711 in Hist. MSS Comm.: 10th Rep.: App. Pt. V: MSS Marquis of Ormonde &c. (1885) 184 in (C. 4576–I) XLII. 1 His..death proved very sensible to the languishing King. 1769 in J. Boswell xx. 129 The general zeal..in favour of the brave Corsicans, gives a very sensible joy to every true friend of liberty. 1819 W. Scott I. ix. 163 The time and place prevented his receiving..more sensible marks of his master's resentment. 1893 R. L. Stevenson Let. 30 Jan. in (1895) 246 All novels are a heavy burthen while they are doing, and a sensible disappointment when they are done. 1918 tr. J. M. Ory 595 She made great strides in overcoming a too sensible feeling that superiors had their preferences for others to her detriment. 5. society > communication > manifestation > manifestness > [adjective] the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > evident certainty > [adjective] ?1531 R. Barnes fol. xxjv All the world may see what you be, these thynges be sensyble ynough. a1586 Sir P. Sidney (1590) iii. xviii. sig. Ss7 Their smart being more sensible to others eyes, then to their owne feeling. 1604 T. Wright (new ed.) v. 166 In some musick there is to be noted a manifest loose effeminatenesse: and the experience is so sensible, that it were superfluous to proceed any farther in proofe. 1690 J. Locke iii. v. 205 These are too sensible proofs to be doubted. 1736 Bp. J. Butler i. v. 89 Under the more immediate, or, if such an Expression may be used, the more Sensible Government of God. 1794 S. Williams iv. 57 It..is most of all sensible and apparent in a new country. 1816 P. Cleaveland 539 It yields a white smoke and a very sensible odor of garlic. 1853 J. Phillips v. 150 The warming influence of the sea air begins to be very sensible in October. 1912 27 76 Morville..showed sensible pleasure, saying that nothing could be more agreeable to France than to see Great Britain and Prussia more closely united. the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > considerable in amount or degree the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > worthy of notice > of considering 1581 W. Lambarde ii. xx. 502 If our Gaoles in Englande were more often swepte & emptied, I doubt not, but that wee also shoulde finde a sensible profite to arise by it. 1646 Sir T. Browne iv. vii. 196 We could discover no sensible difference in weight. View more context for this quotation 1677 J. Mitchel iii. 65 The Earth..is but as a point, i. e. of no considerable bigness (of no sensible quantity). 1755 B. Martin 116 A very sensible Distance Eastward. 1792 T. Jefferson (1859) III. 340 You will perceive that the Indian War calls for sensible exertions. 1843 J. E. Portlock viii. 215 Both contain a sensible amount of Strontian. 1880 C. R. Markham iii. xv. 436 [It will] effect a sensible reduction in these figures. 1917 32 336 There is no sensible difference of race among the peoples of northwestern Europe and the British Isles. 1953 S. F. Mason xvii. 162 Newton calculated..that there would be no sensible alteration in the motions of the planets through frictional resistance even after 10,000 years. 2001 30 102/2 These various tidal components..provide a sensible increase in water level. II. Capable of perceiving or responding to a stimulus; having senses. the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [noun] > faculty of sensation a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. iii. xii. 99 The vertu sensibile þat meueþ is departid aþre. On partie hatte naturalis and þe oþir vitalis and þe þridde animalis. c1450 (?c1408) J. Lydgate (1901) l. 716 With [read Whiche] vertu namyd ys sensible, And is, as y reherse kan, Yove to beste and eke to man. 1593 R. Hooker i. vi. 58 Beastes are in sensible capacitie as ripe euen as men themselues, perhaps more ripe. 1655 T. Moffett & C. Bennet xxxi. 290 Whilst a man sleepeth all motive and sensible faculties seem to be idle. 1747 T. Cradock 10 To me it is the greatest Wonder in the World, that any Man of common Sense can be so blinded, as to follow and support a Religion, that gives the Lie to every sensible Faculty about him. 1884 tr. H. Lotze 337 Quantities, of whose equality or inequality we can judge with sufficient accuracy by help of our sensible faculties alone. 1981 A. A. Sachedina 214 (note) The knowledge attained by the sensible faculty is different from that attained by experience. 2015 I. Fay i. 36 Whilst sweet smells might restore a person's senses, the sensible virtue (that is, the power rooted in the brain which governed the faculties of vision, hearing, olfaction, tasting and touch) risked being ‘corupte[d] and greved by stynkynge smelles’. 7. Having the faculty of sensation or sense perception; = sensitive adj. 2. the world > life > the body > sense organ > [adjective] a1400 tr. Lanfranc (Ashm.) (1894) 24 From þe brayn comen .vij. peire cordes. & þei ben clepid sensible senewis. c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in f. 39 (MED) The lyuere is..insensible bi himsilf, but bi accidens he is sensible. 1547 A. Borde i. f. xlivv A tothe is a sensyble bone, the which beyng in a lyuinge mannes heed hath felynge. 1639 J. Woodall (rev. ed.) 408 The Surgeon may come somewhat neere the sensible and living parts,..eroding, clipping, and abscinding onely the corrupt flesh. 1793 J. Bell ii. x. 404 Some [parts of the human body] are..sensible, and very prone to inflammation and disease. 1831 W. Youatt xv. 287 Between the coffin-bone and the horny sole is situated the sensible sole. 1850 H. T. Cheever v. 88 Outside of the sensible skin. 1999 M. Lindemann iii. 83 By dividing bodily tissues into sensible and irritable parts, he [sc. Albrecht von Haller] laid the foundation for the subsequent theories of William Cullen..and Johann Blumenbach. the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [adjective] ?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius (BL Add. 10340) (1868) v. pr. iv. l. 4812 A man is [a thing] ymaginable and sensible. 1547 J. Wilkinson tr. Aristotle iiii. sig. A.vi The Solle of man hath thre powers, one is called ye lyfe vegitable : in ye whiche man is partener with trees & with plantes: The second power, is the life sensible in the whiche a man is partener with beastes, for why al beastes haue lifes sensible. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny II. xxxi. xi. 423 That spunges have life, yea and a sensible life, I have prooved heretofore. 1690 J. Locke i. i. 1 It is the Understanding that sets Man above the rest of sensible Beings. 1755 B. Martin 79 Can it be possible for any sensible Beings to endure that Intensity of Cold, and live? 1813 T. Busby in tr. Lucretius I. ii. Comm. p. xxxv Plato..taught that sensible beings are formed from sensile atoms. 1983 39 195 In the state of innocence God subordinated sensible creatures to man. 2013 C. H. Kahn v. 172 According to the narrative of the Timaeus, the cosmos itself is an individual zōon, a sensible living thing that has come into existence and in principle might perish. 8. the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > acuteness of physical senses > [adjective] > having acute sense perception a1530 W. Bonde (1531) iii. f. CCv Whose blessed flesshe was moost tender, sensyble and lyuely. 1543 B. Traheron tr. J. de Vigo i. ii. f. 15v/1 After the digestyue, ye muste clense the place wythe a mundificatyue of Syrupe of Roses, cheyfelye whan the Aposteme is aboute verye sensible places. 1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault ii. xlvi. 299 The stomacke being easie and inclined to vomit, as hauing a verie sensible orifice. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. i. 179 These Gentlemen, who are of such sensible and nimble Lungs, that they alwayes vse to laugh at nothing. View more context for this quotation 1679 G. Rose tr. P. Boaistuau ii. 318 A Faggot burning hot, applyed to the most sensible parts about him. 1739 J. Sparrow tr. H. F. Le Dran civ. 338 The Flesh at the Bottom of the Wound was very sensible. 1766 O. Goldsmith I. iii. 27 Physicians tell us of a disorder in which the whole body is so exquisitely sensible, that the slightest touch gives pain. 1813 J. Thomson 45 Parts, which in the sound state have little or no sensibility, become exquisitely sensible in the inflamed. 1832 D. Brewster ix. 229 The human ear is so extremely sensible as to be capable of appreciating sounds which arise from about twenty-four thousand vibrations in a second. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) i. iii. 18 Yet his Hand, Not sensible of fire, remain'd vnscorch'd. View more context for this quotation 1691 J. Ray 182 The most wise Author of Nature hath..made it [sc. the eye] more patient and less sensible of cold than our other parts. 1740 tr. Le Fèvre de Morsan iii. vii. 286 To rub themselves with oil, in order to render their members more supple and active, and less sensible to cold. 1774 O. Goldsmith II. 169 Dogs are well known to be very sensible of different tones in music. 1822 J. M. Good III. 203 At noon-tide..it [sc. the retina affected with day-sight] is sensible to the impressions of objects; but does not clearly discern them in the shade or towards the close of day. 1891 Aug. 65/1 The body is less sensible to heat and cold, and may suffer from either extreme before aware of the danger. 1914 Apr. 212/2 Elderly persons..are more sensible to cold and to currents of air. 2012 (Nexis) 28 June Aged, sick, people afflicted with psychic disturbances..are considered to be very sensible to noise. 9. Capable of or liable to emotional response. Cf. sensitive adj. 4. the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > emotional perception > [adjective] > emotionally conscious of something the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > capacity for emotion > [adjective] > susceptible to something spec. 1611 R. Bolton 84 It awakes the conscience, and makes it tender and sensible of the least sinne. 1655 in W. Fraser (1894) II. 299 I ame to acquainte you with..the late losse of my father. I ame confident your lordship will bee very sensible of this newes, for hee truly did respect you. a1740 J. Abernethy (1748) I. vii. 155 The principles of self-love deeply rooted in our nature, makes us always sensible to our own interests. 1791 J. Boswell anno 1734 I. 42 Johnson had, from his early youth, been sensible to the influence of female charms. a1832 J. T. Graves Rom. & Canon Law in (1845) II. 738/2 The Roman mind seems to have been always sensible to the claims of justice. 1849 T. B. Macaulay I. iv. 450 Work was to be done, however, which could be trusted to no man who reverenced law or was sensible of shame. 1904 E. M. R. Seymour tr. E. Dumont iii. 28 Mirabeau, who was extremely sensible to kindness, softened gradually. the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > touchiness > [adjective] 1613 J. Hayward 114 Great personages are most sencible of reproach, and the least touch of honour maketh a wide and incurable wound. 1620 J. Pyper tr. H. d'Urfé i. vi. 172 I haue had so many and so great troubles for louing, that I am no more sensible on that side, hauing beene so hardened. 1759 Ld. Chesterfield 27 Apr. (1932) (modernized text) V. 2350 You will say..that, if a person is born of a very sensible gloomy temper..they cannot help it. 1792 G. Morris (1889) II. 3 These [titles] should be properly placed, you know, because monarchs are very sensible on that subject. 1815 E. Quillinan ii. 39 With wond'rous ease Some gentle ladies can their griefs appease. Monthermer on the couch of sickness laid, What could console so sensible a maid? the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > capacity for emotion > sensitiveness or tenderness > [adjective] 1631 E. Reynolds i. 75 These are considerations which unto sensible consciences must sometime or other beget much vexation. 1675 R. Burthogge 13 A person of a tender, sensible and compassionate Temper. 1734 I. Watts lvi. 238 Preserve your Conscience always soft and sensible. 1760 L. Sterne III. 405 St. Peter certainly was of a warm and sensible nature. 1895 I. Maclaren iii. 90 The sunset..was the finest sight a Drumtochty man was ever likely to see, and a means of grace to every sensible heart in the glen. 1947 W. H. Auden in Autumn 406 Deserving nothing, the sensible soul Will rejoice at the sudden mansion Of any joy. 2008 D. Kilic iii. 54 Helen Maria Williams and Charlotte Smith feminized politics by emphasizing the sensible heart and emotions instead of the mind and reason. 10. In extended use. the world > plants > by nutrition or respiration > [adjective] > sensitive to stimuli 1623 R. Jobson 136 If you toucht or stird a little sprigge, the whole tree should close his leaues after a most sensible manner. Whereof taking especiall notice, wee did allow it to be the sensible tree, of which auncient authours haue written. 1648 J. Bobart Eng. Catal. in Sensible plant, Herba mimosa. 1661 O. Felltham (rev. ed.) 231 Like the sensible plant, when the hand of flesh does touch it, she shrinks in all her leaves. 1725 H. Sloane II. 58 Sensible Grass. It is so very sensible that..I have on horseback wrote my name with a rod in a spot of it which continued visible for some time. 1742 E. Milward in (Royal Soc.) 42 4 The Antidote is, the Root of the Sensible Weed, as it is commonly called, or Herba Sensitiva. 1769 E. Bancroft 225 From the Sensible Plant to the scarce vegetable Moss, all are exquisitely adapted. 1807 J. E. Smith xvi. 208 Succulent leaves..have been observed to be peculiarly sensible to light. 1832 C. Don II. 398/1 Desmanthus... Sect. I. Neptunia... Prostrate, usually rooting, aquatic herbs, furnished with bipinnate leaves, which are sensible to the touch, as those of the sensitive plants. 1915 8 38 The plant remained apparently absolutely unaffected, but on giving it a gentle stroke it was no longer sensible to the stimulus. 1932 21 Apr. Mimosa pudica; sensitive plant or ‘sensible’ plant; grown for curious sensitive foliage. 2014 B. Larson in B. V. Lightman & B. Zon v. 130 The mimosa as either sensible or merely mechanistic was widely debated during this period and central to larger speculations regarding movement in plants. the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adjective] > of tools, materials, etc.: accurate 1678 J. Locke Let. 6 Aug. in R. Boyle (2001) V. 111 A friend of his hath found out a very sensible hygrometer. 1684 R. Waller tr. 5 The Third [thermometer]..is more sensible, and swifter near four times. 1761 June 258/1 What remained in the crucible was a calcined earth, some particles of which appeared sensible to the magnet. 1780 (Royal Soc.) 70 17 I insulated a brass plate upon a glass stand, and connected a very sensible electrometer with it. 1819 J. G. Children 372 This balance is sensible to the 1/100dth part of a grain when loaded with 1000 grains in each pan. 1821 W. T. Brande (ed. 2) I. i. 144 Nitrate of mercury is a prevaricating test, but very sensible to a variety of substances that may exist in mineral waters. 1834 M. Somerville xxxi. 330 This instrument [sc. the galvanometer] is rendered much more sensible by neutralizing the effects of the earth's magnetism on the needle. 1907 16 Apr. 1/2 (heading) Seismograph at weather bureau sensible to Sunday's earth tremors. 1999 D. A. Golombek in M. R. Kidger et al. vii. 252 The MAMA [= Multi-Anode Microchannel Array] detectors are photon-counting detectors sensible to UV radiation. 2010 F. Difato et al. xvi. 6 in A. Diaspro The PFM [= Photonic Force Microscope] is sensible to any kind of environmental noise: thermal, acoustic, or convective. †III. Concerned with the physical senses. the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > sensuous pleasure > sensuality > [adjective] ?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena (Harl.) (1966) 162 (MED) Sche ouercomeþ alle her owne propre sencible passiouns vertuously. a1500 (?a1425) tr. (Lamb.) 96 (MED) He ressayues a stryngthe of vndirstandynge þat ys renunciatyf of ffygures and semblance & of temptacions sensibles [L. temptationum sensibilium]. 1653 K. Digby tr. Albertus Magnus vi. 23 You must necessarily devest your heart of all sensible love [L. amore sensibili], not only of all persons whatsoever, but of all creatures whatsoever. 1724 W. Reading vi. 96 He [sc. the Devil] studies to bring mankind into the same circumstances with himself... by baiting his hooks with sensible temptations. IV. Aware, conscious. 12. the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > [adjective] > that perceives, aware > of something ?c1425 (c1412) T. Hoccleve (Royal 17 D.vi) (1860) 57 Art thou ought, sone myne, sensible In whiche cas that thou oughtest the forbere, And in whiche not? 1574 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara 302 Neither be sensible of the mischief, nor profit vs of the time. 1625 F. Bacon (new ed.) xxix. 177 Be not too sensible, or too remembring, of thy Place, in Conuersation. 1667 S. Pepys 14 Feb. (1974) VIII. 62 Which shows how little we are sensible of the weight of the business upon us. 1699 R. Bentley (new ed.) 309 I am sensible how long I have detain'd the Reader upon this Subject. 1721 Lady M. W. Montagu Mar. (1966) II. 4 I would have you then..try to make the wretch sensible of the Truth of what I advance. 1742 R. Challoner II. 2 The Catholics were made sensible, that however the Persecution might in some measure be abated, it was not to cease. 1762 A. Dickson iv. iii. 407 If these salts and oils actually fly off from it in such quantities, as to make us sensible of them by smell. 1806 R. Cumberland 428 I was not sensible to the extent of my danger. 1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato (ed. 2) V. 68 He is sensible that moderation is better than total abstinence. 1957 P. White x. 312 There were occasions, this fever-gutted man suspected, when his leader was not sensible of their common doom. 1981 22 Aug. 17/2 Some brokers..still see a bleak divided outlook... But others, sensible to business recovery and slackening inflation, are now more sanguine. 2009 J. Rubino & C. Rubino-Broadway xii. 58 She was sensible of the indelicacy of raising the subject so soon after her husband's funeral. the mind > attention and judgement > attention > [adjective] > careful of 1626 11 May (Parl. Archives HL/PO/JO/1/12) 166 I humbly beseech your lopps [= lordshipps] to bee sensible of mee in this point, what dishonor I haue susteined. 1646 H. Lawrence Ep. Ded. sig. *2v As we usually are more sensible of our enemyes then our friends. 1891 G. Meredith II. xi. 270 He pitied, and strove to be sensible of her. the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > emotional perception > [adjective] > emotionally conscious of something 1614 E. Grimeston tr. P. Matthieu x. 68 This sickenesse had toucht his heart, and made him more sencible [Fr. sensible] of the miseries and calamities of his subiects. 1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. J. L. G. de Balzac 26 They stood amazed to see a servant..Who was as sensible of the least evils of his country as of his proper sorrows. 1656 J. Bramhall 11 God seemeth to be more sensible of the injuries done unto his church and to his servants, then of the dishonor done unto himself. a1680 S. Butler (1759) II. 74 His Pleasures require a larger Proportion of Excess and Variety, to render him sensible of them. 1711 J. Addison No. 166. ¶8 He found that he was so very sensible of his Fault, and so sincerely repented of it. a1715 G. Hickes (MS. Rawl. Lett. f. 15) 75 I am as sensible & sorry for the great Loss of Mr. Urry, as any Friend he hath left behind him. 1748 S. Richardson III. xii. 87 I kiss'd her, and she made me a courtesy for my condescension; and blush'd, and seem'd sensible all over. 1775 Earl of Carlisle in J. H. Jesse (1844) III. 108 Lady Carlisle desires to be remembered to you; she is, indeed, very sensible of your goodness to us all. 1823 W. Scott III. xiii. 307 He was sensible of the indignity of serving with his noblest peers under the banners of his own vassal. 1846 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. in II. 122/2 When he has given them the faculties, they become so sensible and grateful, they do whatever he orders. 1856 T. Carlyle Let. to J. Knight 19 Apr. in (1862) II. 18 Surely I am very sensible to the kindness of the President and Council in this matter. 1895 Aug. 149 They are always sensible to kindness and sympathy. 1944 G. Heyer i. 5 Indeed, I am deeply sensible of the honour you have done me, but—. 1992 S. Fry (1993) 52 I have no doubt that we are all deeply sensible of the profound compliment paid us. the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [adjective] > conscious 1678 W. Simpson 9 The Fever and its attendants had made their exit, she cheerful, very sensible, her stupor being gone. 1732 T. Lediard tr. J. Terrasson II. ix. 283 The governor was not yet sensible. 1785 E. K. Mathews IV. vi. 50 She was sensible, and after having taken her medicine, slept again till noon. 1835 2 Speak softly, Sir; my master's turning blue. He's not been sensible since last November. 1891 ‘J. S. Winter’ xiii. 96 He's asking for you and is quiet and sensible. 1907 A. Lambert in W. Osler & T. McCrae I. ix. 185 When the patient awakens from the critical sleep he is sensible, the hallucinations have gone, and his orientation is usually complete. 1960 R. F. C. Hull tr. C. G. Jung III. ii. 172 Many patients often become quite sensible again for a time, and develop mental powers which one believed they had long since lost. 1994 N. Demand tr. Hippocrates in iii. 50 She had rambling speech, then was sensible again; a slight fever was present. V. Having, showing, or characterized by good sense. 15. the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > [adjective] > not excessive the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > common sense > [adjective] a1439 J. Lydgate (Bodl. 263) i. l. 6094 Yiff your resouns and wittis be sensible, Thyng seyn at eye is nat incredible. [No corresponding passage in the French original.] c1460 (?c1400) l. 2621 Wherfor wee must, with al our wit sensibill, Such answers vs purvey, þat þey been insolibil. ?a1475 (1922) 232 (MED) As A primat most preudent, I present here sensyble buschopys of þe lawe with al þe cyrcumstawns. 1584 R. Scot iii. viii. 51 If they were sensible, they would saie to the diuell; Whie should I hearken to you? 1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten i. xlvi. 85/2 In the Island of Seylon there are also great numbers [of Elephants], which are esteemed the best and sensiblest of all the worlde. a1626 F. Bacon (1630) Pref. sig. B3v And that Ciuilians, States-men, Schollers, and other sensible men might not haue beene barred from them. 1667 L. Muggleton xxiii. 56 They were wise, sensible, sober, learned men. 1711 J. Addison No. 130. ¶3 Sir Roger..knew several sensible People who believ'd these Gypsies now and then foretold very strange things. 1768 P. Francis Let. 26 Apr. in J. Parkes (1867) I. 210 The woman..is honest and intelligent, or in the cant word, sensible. 1782 W. Cowper Conversation in 222 A moral, sensible and well-bred man Will not affront me, and no other can. 1849 T. B. Macaulay II. vi. 97 He was too sensible a man not to know that he might at some future time be called to a serious account by a parliament. 1885 O. W. Holmes (1886) iv. 65 No sensible person in Arrowhead village really believed in the evil eye. 1920 Aug. 11/3 But you don't know the real me; I am not sensible; I am frivolous, extravagant. 1966 N. Coward 13 Mar. (2000) 626 He was uneffusive, authoritative and gloriously sensible. 2012 11 Jan. 11/3 Any really major infrastructure project is going to run smack up against things no sensible person would want to destroy. the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > restrained or moderate behaviour > [adjective] > exhibiting good sense the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > common sense > [adjective] > characterized by sense c1598 King James VI & I (1944) I. iii. 180/1 Lett the greatest pairt of youre eloquence consiste in a naturall, cleir & sensibill forme of the deliuerie of youre mynde. 1662 H. More Antidote against Atheism (ed. 3) iii. xiii. 126 in (ed. 2) The manner of this Genius his sensible Converse. a1699 W. Temple Ess. Health & Long Life in (1720) I. 277 He had been a Soldier in the Cales Voyage..of which He gave me a sensible Account. 1729 T. Woolston 29 How to make an intelligible, consistent, and sensible Story of it. 1778 F. Burney Let. Sept. in (1994) III. 155 She has a sensible & penetrating Countenance. 1801 Aug. 362 A very sensible paper, on the use of lime. 1849 T. B. Macaulay I. ii. 221 (note) The most sensible thing said in the House of Commons, on this subject, came from Sir William Coventry. 1910 4 May 11/6 A correspondent yesterday made the simple and sensible suggestion that we should call them ‘airmen’. 1963 J. R. Leggett ix. 61 As regards store stock, sale by auction is the only sensible method. 2003 Autumn 42/1 It would seem sensible to take what he says with a pinch of salt. the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > [adjective] > merely > as opposed to fashionable or attractive 1737 Ld. Chesterfield in 26 Feb. 24 Dress to be sensible, must be properly adapted to the Person. 1855 E. C. Gaskell I. xii. 146 Margaret was busy embroidering a small piece of cambric... Mrs. Thornton..liked Mrs. Hale's double knitting far better; that was sensible of its kind. 1888 R. Kipling 8 Nice, large, sensible shoes for all couples to stumble over as they go into the verandah! 1944 W. H. Auden ii. 36 The river on this side of which initiative and honesty stroll arm in arm wearing sensible clothes. 1959 22 Mar. 1/1 Chintz curtains and no-nonsense bundles of flowers in sensible pots. 2005 J. Weiner xxiv. 201 She hurried down the hall after us,..sensible shoes squeaking over the linoleum. B. n.the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > thing or material object > cognizable by the senses or phenomenon a1500 (a1450) tr. (Ashm. 396) (1977) 73 (MED) The vertue intellectif, and denunciatif of figures or likenesse, other of interpretacion of all sensible [c1484 J. de Caritate sensibilys], gouerneth hym to 20 yeres. 1557 H. Iden tr. G. B. Gelli x. sig. R.iiijv Because thou shouldeste be able to discerne, which are the proper sensibles of one sence. 1589 G. Puttenham iii. xxiii. 219 This louely conformitie..betweene the sence and the sensible hath nature..most carefully obserued in all her owne workes. 1656 T. Stanley II. v. 10 In Sensibiles (saith Plato) neither magnitude nor quality is permanent. 1665 J. Glanvill ix. 50 A blind man conceives not colours, but under the notion of some other sensible. a1704 T. Brown London & Lacedemonian Oracles in (1708) iii. 131 By Phenomena's we understand Sensibles, which we oppose to Intelligibles. 1788 T. Taylor in tr. Proclus I. 44 (note) All the ancient theologists..affirmed that the soul was of a certain middle nature and condition between intelligibles and sensibles. 1822 T. Taylor tr. Apuleius 338 The senses..being aptly formed, by nature, to the perception of sensibles. 1856 R. A. Vaughan I. iii. i. 74 Those..who think they can storm the Intelligible by the Sensible. 1917 8 152 Knowables and sensibles exist before knowledge and sensation. 1959 N. Berkes tr. Z. Gökalp ii. 51 The sufi denied the real existence of the world of sensibles. 2005 A. G. Cooper i. 20 The spiritual life is..a ‘passage’ from the sensible to the intelligible, from the flesh to the Spirit. the world > life > [noun] > that is capable of sensation the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > [noun] > sentient being 1642 H. More sig. B7 Here's that aereall stole, that to each fashion Of sensibles is matter for their weed. 1683 T. Creech tr. Lucretius (ed. 2) Notes 31 This agrees to Plants as well as Sensibles, They are nourisht grow and live a like. 1709 R. Stewart 11 Minerals, Vegetables, Sensibles, how they move in their proper Figures of Composition. the world > health and disease > ill health > pain > [noun] > person suffering > element in spiritual being 1667 J. Milton ii. 278 Our torments also may in length of time Become our Elements,..our temper chang'd Into their temper; which must needs remove The sensible of pain. View more context for this quotation the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > common sense > [noun] > person 1747 (1748) II. 323 The Sensibles are desired to confine theirs to Masquerades and Playhouses. 1829 1 Aug. 124/1 A second consideration, which has had its weight with the Sensibles, is, that..it is more important to instruct the judgment than improve the imagination. 1907 May 379/1 The silly generally become inoculated with a germ of sense, and the sensible are only healthily so. 1986 23 Feb. 9/6 Mr Neil Kinnock and Dr David Owen are both reasonably placed to turn either Sillies or Sensibles into Patriots. 2000 T. Gray i. 7 ‘Sensibles’ who eat a nutritious balanced diet. 1880 R. D. Blackmore Mary Anerley xli, in July 276/2 After the sensitive age was past, and when the sensibles ought to reign..he fell..into a violent passion of love for a beautiful Jewish maid barely turned seventeen. †C. adv.the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > ability to be perceived by senses > [adverb] 1590 H. Swinburne iv. f. 167 Although his childe did neuer crie, so that it did sensible breath or moue. 1646 H. Lawrence i. 3 When hee shall yet speake more sensible to us, to our sight and to our touch. the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > [adverb] society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > vigour or force > [adverb] 1659 tr. 4 Pardon my deviation, he that speakes of his owne greifes, of his owne troubles speakes sensible. 1665 R. Hooke 68 I shall endeavour to explain my meaning a little more sensible by a Scheme. Compounds1747 (1748) II. 170 One Parson Winterbottom, a grave, sensible-looking sort of a Blockhead. 1826 B. Disraeli II. iv. i. 159 I remember a most interminable proser, that was blessed with a very sensible-sounding voice. 1895 J. G. Millais iv. 78 Oom Paul's mode of government is entirely unpopular amongst the more sensible-minded Dutch. 1912 15 Aug. 36/2 The sensible-headed dogs with semi-erect ears, small, dark eyes, and keen expression are plentiful to-day. 1976 Winter 41 She writes back promptly with some sensible-seeming advice. 2005 (National ed.) 15 May viii. 11/4 Sensible-shoed insurance salesmen and mild-mannered pharmacists all gaped. C2. 1800 tr. F. A. C. Gren I. ii. 114 That caloric, which on the formation of liquid, and of elastic fluid bodies, is fixed, and becomes imperceptible, must of course again present itself in the character of sensible or free caloric [Ger. sensibeler oder freyer Wärmestoff], and cause an increase of temperature, whenever elastic fluid bodies are transformed into liquid or solid ones; or when liquid are changed into solid bodies. 1847 J. H. Ward ii. 16 (heading) Theory of Latent and Sensible Caloric as applied to Steam. 1949 93 320/1 It seemed obvious that sensible caloric could be squeezed from a body by artificially pushing the atoms together into a closer proximity than the mutual repulsion of their caloric atmospheres would allow. 2005 72 1354 Like Lavoisier, Laplace proposed that latent caloric causes volume expansion of gases while sensible caloric causes heating of gases. 1853 W. J. M. Rankine in Feb. 106 All conceivable forms of energy may be distinguished into two kinds; actual or sensible, and potential or latent.] 1867 Ann. Rep. Amer. Inst. N.Y. 1866–7 812 in (90th Session, Doc. No. 244) XVIII If..the sensible energy or power of performing work is to be considered, its proper measure will be..similarly modified. 1906 J. V. V. Booraem 46 When evaporation occurs at the melting-point then, the sensible energy of the liquid condition becomes zero, and the latent energy a maximum. 1983 N. R. Sheridan in B. B. P. Lim 67 In heat operated systems, thermal energy can be stored as sensible energy in water or rocks. 2006 38 143/2 Sensible energy is increasingly transferred laterally from the much warmer bare ground patches to the remaining snow patches. 1535 W. Marshall tr. Marsilius of Padua i. iv. f. 13v Whiche thynge also euery man maye perceyue euydently, by sensyble experyence [L. inductione sensata]. 1694 J. Locke (new ed.) ii. i. 44 He, that would not deceive himself, ought to build his Hypothesis on matter of fact, and make it out by sensible experience. 1745 D. Fordyce I. xi. 366 Truth..is not easily apprehended by the Bulk of Mankind; especially if it be remote from common Observation, or abstracted from sensible Experience. 1890 W. James II. xvii. 8 The physiological condition of this first sensible experience is probably nerve-currents coming in from many peripheral organs at once. 1959 A. C. Crombie (1995) II. i. i. 37 For some four centuries from the beginning of the 13th century, the question guiding scientific inquiry was to discover the real, the enduring, the intelligible behind the changing world of sensible experience. 2005 A. Ross in A. Parr 138 According to Kant, the coherence and form of experience are the work of the mind rather than the ‘givens’ of sensible experience. 1770 51 That sensible heat is converted into latent, and, though it no longer appears to act sensibly, resides in the water. 1839 A. Ure 444 Heat..perceived by the touch and measured by the thermometer, which is called sensible heat. 1973 13 Apr. 21 (advt.) An Econovent heat recovery wheel.., utilising both latent and sensible heat, warms up the incoming fresh air with warmth from the outgoing stale air. 2016 A. de Gracia et al. in S.-N. Boemi et al. xvi. 321 Sensible heat storage has two main advantages: it is cheap and is without the risks derived from the use of toxic materials. 1550 W. Salesbury tr. Proclus sig. D.iv And there be .ii. Horizons, one sensyble, the other ymagyned by vnderstandynge. The sensyble Horizon is that, whiche of oure syght is lymyted at the vtmoste of our..kennynge. 1642 J. Milton 46 The rationall horizon in heav'n is but one, and the sensible horizons in earth are innumerable. 1764 J. Ferguson viii. 156 The sensible horizon is that circle, which a man standing upon a large plane, observes to terminate his view all around, where the heaven and earth seem to meet. 1860 4 July 5/1 Its [sc. a comet] position, as nearly as I could guess, without actual measurement, was..14° above the sensible horizon, and dipping towards the sea. 1945 89 5/2 In the latitude of East Base the sun is below the sensible horizon at noon from late May until mid-July. 2007 A. Sofaer in S. H. Lekson (2008) ix. 234/1 The orientations of eleven of the fourteen major buildings are associated with one of the four solar or lunar azimuths on the sensible horizon. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > system of sounds or intervals > [noun] > diatonic scale series > notes in diatonic scale ?1775 W. Waring tr. J.-J. Rousseau 25 This note [sc. B flat] is almost always the sensible note in the major tones. 1854 6 45/2 The G of this part becomes a sensible note. 1923 F. H. Martens tr. P. Landormy ii. 22 They softened their phrase-endings by the well-nigh regular employ of a ‘sensible note’. 2013 T. M. Tonietti tr. J.-P. Rameau in (2014) II. xi. 333 It is not possible to ascend diatonically to the note that generates a mode [tonality] except with the favour of its sensible note. 1657 J. Dodington tr. C. Vialart 533 Private interest is the most sensible part [Fr. la partie plus sensible] to touch a Prince on. 1751 tr. P. M. de l'Écluse des Loges (Dublin ed.) iii. 185 I touched James in his most sensible Part; I mean, his Ambition to immortalize his Memory. 1817 J. Mill III. vi. i. 46 The dignity of the Directors was now touched in a most sensible part. 1676 J. Davies tr. S. Santorio i. 3 Insensible perspiration [L. perspiratio insensibilis] alone is commonly wont to exceed all the sensible perspirations [L. sensibiles] put together. 1849 S. G. Morton 156 When this halitus escapes in the state of simple vapor, it is called insensible perspiration; but when the amount becomes so profuse as to wet the skin, it is termed the sensible perspiration. 2010 J. L. Kee et al. (ed. 8) i. 11 In a relatively comfortable temperature would insensible perspiration or sensible perspiration occur? the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [noun] > that which is small > a small space or extent > least portion of space 1644 K. Digby i. viii. 54 (side note) The least sensible poynt of a diaphanous body, hath roome sufficient to containe both ayre and light, together with a multitude of beames issuing from seuerall lights, without penetrating one an other. 1690 J. Locke ii. xv. 96 A sensible Point, meaning thereby the least Particle of Matter or Space we can discern, which is ordinarily about a Second of a Circle, where of the Eye is the Centre. a1715 Bp. G. Burnet (1724) I. 240 And, to touch the King in a sensible point, he said, the Covenant stuck so deep in their hearts, that no good could be done till that was rooted out. 1731 T. Dale tr. N. Regnault I. xix. 329 The Image of the Object is distinct when all the Rays that proceed from every sensible Point of the Object happen to be reunited upon as many Points of the Retina. 1799 J. Wood i. i. 30 Perfect Vision, is that in which the rays of a single pencil are collected into a single physical or sensible point of the retina. 1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor ii, in 3rd Ser. II. 28 He had alarmed his fears in a most sensible point. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. iii. ix. 98 Þe soule sensible þat ȝeueþ felinge haþ double myȝt and vertu of apprehendinge and of meuinge. c1440 (Thornton) (1913) 81 (MED) A swete reflaire enters in-till oure nosez, in þe whilke a sensible saule hase maste delite. 1604 S. Harward ii. f. 8v The anima sensitiua, or sensible soule giuing sense and mouing, is common to man with brute creatures. 1752 tr. J. L. d'Alembert Pref. 176 Division of the Faculties of the sensible Soul, into Motion and Sensation. 1821 R. Carlile 8 Away with the idea that we have a sensible soul which lives distinct from and after the dissolution of the body. 1903 H. Manacorda & J. Muirhead tr. G. Villa iv. 92 These Aristotelian ideas continued throughout the Middle Ages, the neo-Platonic philosophers..attributing a divine and supernatural character to the rational soul, whilst the sensible soul was merged in the physical world. 2009 14 735 Hector lacked a sensible soul (unable to feel) and a rational soul (lacking self-consciousness or the ability to reason). This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022). <  adj.n.adv.a1393 |
