sensibility

noun

sen·​si·​bil·​i·​ty ˌsen(t)-sə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

plural sensibilities

1

: ability to receive sensations : sensitiveness

tactile sensibility

2

: peculiar susceptibility to a pleasurable or painful impression (as from praise or a slight)

—often used in plural

3

: awareness of and responsiveness toward something (such as emotion in another)

4

: refined or excessive sensitiveness in emotion and taste with especial responsiveness to the pathetic

Did you know?

The meanings of sensibility run the gamut from mere sensation to excessive sentimentality, but we’re here to help you make sense of it all. In between is a capacity for delicate appreciation, a sense often pluralized. In Jane Austen’s books, sensibility is mostly an admirable quality she attributes to, or finds lacking in, her characters: “He had ... a sensibility to what was amiable and lovely” (of Mr. Elliot in Persuasion). In Sense and Sensibility, however, Austen starts out by ascribing to Marianne sensibleness, on the one hand, but an “excess of sensibility” on the other: “Her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation ... she was everything but prudent.”

Synonyms of sensibility

• feeling
• passions
• mood

Examples of sensibility in a Sentence

The writer is remembered most for his sensibility.

She's a woman of poetic sensibility.

Recent Examples on the Web

Alysa Liu Alysa Liu brought a Gothic style sensibility to her Nicholas Oakwell red carpet look with nods to the dark glamour trend. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 17 July 2026

Art Fairs are simultaneously choking the life out of some galleries while trying to give offer them a breath of fresh air via alternative models and boutique sensibilities. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 17 July 2026

That was way too rustic for mid-century American sensibilities. — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 15 July 2026

In fact, while Grozeva and Valchanov are profoundly grounded in their north Balkan homeland, there’s a lot of sensibility overlap here with the absurdism of the Greek Weird Wave of 2010s. — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 14 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for sensibility

• affability
• audibility
• bistability
• capability
• changeability
• contractility
• credibility
• culpability
• disability
• disutility
• durability
• fallibility

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Kids Definition

sensibility

noun

sen·​si·​bil·​i·​ty ˌsen(t)-sə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

plural sensibilities

1

: ability to receive sensations : sensitiveness

2

: response to a pleasurable or painful impression (as praise or criticism)

3

: the emotion or feeling of which a person is capable

Medical Definition

sensibility

noun

sen·​si·​bil·​i·​ty ˌsen(t)-sə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

plural sensibilities

1

: ability to receive sensations

sensibility to pain

2

: awareness of and responsiveness toward something (as emotion in another)