Wiktionary

sensation

See also: Sensation

English

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Etymology

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From Old French, from Medieval Latin sensatio, from Latin sensus.

Pronunciation

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  • enPR: sĕn-sā'shən, IPA(key): /sɛnˈseɪʃən/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

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sensation (countable and uncountable, plural sensations)

  1. A physical feeling or perception from something that comes into contact with the body; something sensed.
    • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      Captain Edward Carlisle, soldier as he was, martinet as he was, felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, her alluring smile; he could not tell what this prisoner might do.
    • 1921, Bertrand Russell, The Analysis of Mind:
      Confining ourselves, for the moment, to sensations, we find that there are different degrees of publicity attaching to different sorts of sensations. If you feel a toothache when the other people in the room do not, you are in no way surprised; but if you hear a clap of thunder when they do not, you begin to be alarmed as to your mental condition.
    • 2008, Tamar Love, “Turning On in the Tub”, in The Sensual Bath: Soaking in Pleasure and Passion‎[1] (Sex/Relationships), Sterling/Ravenous, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 86, column 1:
      Water and electricity might not mix, but water and battery-powered fun sure do. Whether you are using a vibe alone or with a partner, in the tub or in the shower, the sensation of intense vibration feels especially nice underwater. Although waterproof vibrators can resemble anything from a lipstick to a kitty cat, most have one of four basic designs.
  2. (psychology, physiology) Excitation of sensory organs.
    Coordinate term: perception
    • 1822, John Barclay, chapter I, in An Inquiry Into the Opinions, Ancient and Modern, Concerning Life and Organization‎[2], Edinburgh, London: Bell & Bradfute; Waugh & Innes; G. & W. B. Whittaker, section I, page 2:
      In the dead state all is apparently without motion. No agent within indicates design, intelligence, or foresight: there is no respiration; […] no sensation; […]
  3. A widespread reaction of interest or excitement.
    • 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Tremarn Case”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
      “Two or three months more went by; the public were eagerly awaiting the arrival of this semi-exotic claimant to an English peerage, and sensations, surpassing those of the Tichbourne case, were looked forward to with palpitating interest. […] ”
    • 1937, H. P. Lovecraft, The Thing on the Doorstep:
      Young Derby's odd genius developed remarkably, and in his eighteenth year his collected nightmare-lyrics made a real sensation when issued under the title Azathoth and Other Horrors.
  4. (figurative, uncommon, dated) A remarkable person.
    Synonym: event
    You truly are a sensation.
  5. (slang, archaic) A small serving of gin or sherry.
    • 1852, George Butler Earp, Gold Seeker's Manual, page 52:
      A Sensation . . . . Half-a-glass of sherry.
    • 1869, Meliora, volume 12, page 47:
      When men go into a 'sluicery' for a 'sensation,' a 'drain,' or a 'common sewer,' they call the glass of gin they seek, in allusion to the juniper, a 'nipper,' or, more briefly, a 'nip,' occasionally a 'bite,' and not unfrequently it turns out a 'flogger.'

Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  • (small serving of gin): 1873, John Camden Hotten, The Slang Dictionary

Further reading

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Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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From Latin sensationem.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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sensation f (plural sensations)

  1. sensation

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Swedish

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Noun

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sensation c

  1. a sensation ((something causing) widespread excitement)
  2. (psychology) a sensation (perception)
    Synonym: sinnesintryck

Declension

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Declension of sensation
nominative genitive
singular indefinite sensation sensations
definite sensationen sensationens
plural indefinite sensationer sensationers
definite sensationerna sensationernas

Derived terms

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References

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