Adjacent Words

Sensation definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SENSA'TION, n. [from L. sensus, sentio, to perceive. See Sense.] The perception of external objects by means of the senses.
Sensation is an exertion or charge of the central parts of the sensorium, or of the whole of it, beginning at some of those extreme parts of it which reside in the muscles or organs of sense. The secretion of tears in grief is caused by the sensation of pain. Efforts of the will are frequently accompanied by painful or pleasurable sensations.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an unelaborated elementary awareness of stimulation; "a sensation of touch" [syn: sensation, esthesis, aesthesis, sense experience, sense impression, sense datum]
2: someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field [syn: ace, adept, champion, sensation, maven, mavin, virtuoso, genius, hotshot, star, superstar, whiz, whizz, wizard, wiz]
3: a general feeling of excitement and heightened interest; "anticipation produced in me a sensation somewhere between hope and fear"
4: a state of widespread public excitement and interest; "the news caused a sensation"
5: the faculty through which the external world is apprehended; "in the dark he had to depend on touch and on his senses of smell and hearing" [syn: sense, sensation, sentience, sentiency, sensory faculty]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Medieval Latin sensation-, sensatio, from Late Latin, understanding, idea, from Latin sensus Date: 1615 1. a. a mental process (as seeing, hearing, or smelling) resulting from the immediate external stimulation of a sense organ often as distinguished from a conscious awareness of the sensory process — compare perception b. awareness (as of heat or pain) due to stimulation of a sense organ c. a state of consciousness due to internal bodily changes <a sensation of hunger> d. an indefinite bodily feeling <a sensation of buoyancy> 2. something (as a physical stimulus, sense-datum, or afterimage) that causes or is the object of sensation 3. a. a state of excited interest or feeling <their elopement caused a sensation> b. a cause of such excitement <the show was the musical sensation of the season>; especially one (as a person) in some respect exceptional or outstanding <the rookie hitting sensation of the American League>

Britannica Concise

Mental process (such as seeing, hearing, or smelling) due to immediate bodily stimulation, usually as distinguished from perception. When a stimulus impinges on a sense organ and the organism responds, it is said that the stimulus has been sensed. See also psychophysics, sense-data.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the consciousness of perceiving or seeming to perceive some state or condition of one's body or its parts or senses or of one's mind or its emotions; an instance of such consciousness (lost all sensation in my left arm; had a sensation of giddiness; a sensation of pride; in search of a new sensation). 2 a a stirring of emotions or intense interest esp. among a large group of people (the news caused a sensation). b a person, event, etc., causing such interest. 3 the sensational use of literary etc. material. Etymology: med.L sensatio f. L sensus SENSE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sensation Sen*sa"tion, n. [Cf. F. sensation. See Sensate.] 1. (Physiol.) An impression, or the consciousness of an impression, made upon the central nervous organ, through the medium of a sensory or afferent nerve or one of the organs of sense; a feeling, or state of consciousness, whether agreeable or disagreeable, produced either by an external object (stimulus), or by some change in the internal state of the body. Perception is only a special kind of knowledge, and sensation a special kind of feeling. . . . Knowledge and feeling, perception and sensation, though always coexistent, are always in the inverse ratio of each other. --Sir W. Hamilton. 2. A purely spiritual or psychical affection; agreeable or disagreeable feelings occasioned by objects that are not corporeal or material. 3. A state of excited interest or feeling, or that which causes it. The sensation caused by the appearance of that work is still remembered by many. --Brougham. Syn: Perception. Usage: Sensation, Perseption. The distinction between these words, when used in mental philosophy, may be thus stated; if I simply smell a rose, I have a sensation; if I refer that smell to the external object which occasioned it, I have a perception. Thus, the former is mere feeling, without the idea of an object; the latter is the mind's apprehension of some external object as occasioning that feeling. ``Sensation properly expresses that change in the state of the mind which is produced by an impression upon an organ of sense (of which change we can conceive the mind to be conscious, without any knowledge of external objects). Perception, on the other hand, expresses the knowledge or the intimations we obtain by means of our sensations concerning the qualities of matter, and consequently involves, in every instance, the notion of externality, or outness, which it is necessary to exclude in order to seize the precise import of the word sensation.'' --Fleming.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(sensations) 1. A sensation is a physical feeling. Floating can be a very pleasant sensation... A sensation of burning or tingling may be experienced in the hands. = feeling N-COUNT: with supp 2. Sensation is your ability to feel things physically, especially through your sense of touch. The pain was so bad that she lost all sensation. = feeling N-UNCOUNT: supp N 3. You can use sensation to refer to the general feeling or impression caused by a particular experience. It's a funny sensation to know someone's talking about you in a language you don't understand. = feeling N-COUNT: usu adj N 4. If a person, event, or situation is a sensation, it causes great excitement or interest. ...the film that turned her into an overnight sensation. N-COUNT 5. If a person, event, or situation causes a sensation, they cause great interest or excitement. She was just 14 when she caused a sensation at the Montreal Olympics. N-SING: a N

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Feeling (without perception or a reference to any object that causes the feeling), sense, perception. 2. Excitement, impression.

Moby Thesaurus

affect, affection, amazement, astonishing thing, astonishment, awareness, bang, bean, best seller, big hit, bomb, bombshell, boot, brain, brilliant success, charge, commotion, consciousness, curiosity, emotion, emotional charge, emotional shade, encephalon, exception, excitement, experience, fad, feeling, feeling tone, flush, foreboding, funny feeling, gas, gasser, gazingstock, gray matter, great success, gut reaction, head, heartthrob, hit, hunch, impression, jollies, kick, killing, lift, marvel, marvelment, meteoric success, miracle, momentary success, noddle, noggin, nonesuch, noodle, organ of thought, passion, pate, perception, phenomenon, portent, prescience, presentiment, prodigy, profound sense, quite a thing, quiver, rarity, reaction, resounding triumph, response, riot, roaring success, rush, rush of emotion, sconce, seat of thought, sense, sensibility, sensitiveness, sensitivity, sensorium, sensory, sentiment, shiver, shudder, sight, smash, smash hit, sneaking suspicion, something else, spectacle, stir, stunner, success, surge of emotion, susceptibility, suspicion, thrill, tingle, tingling, titillation, tremor, tremor of excitement, triumph, undercurrent, wonder, wonderful thing, wonderment, wow