Added 9 October 2026
sensibility
/ˌsɛn(t)sɪˈbɪlɪti/ noun
Latin root: sēnsibilitās Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about sensibility at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Mental responsiveness and awareness.
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Refined sensitivity to pleasurable or painful impressions.
cruelty offended his sensibility
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(physiology) responsiveness to external stimuli; the faculty of sensation.
sensitivity to pain
Origin
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 .
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)