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. 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

• 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

His appearances on Kill Tony, a podcast hosted by the comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, helped raise his profile; the show has achieved both a huge listenership and notoriety for its crude, taboo-busting sensibility. —David Sims, The Atlantic, 1 Oct. 2025

Though the shoe is not available on the design house’s website yet, the exaggerated heel and graphic construction reflect the sensibility of Nina Christen, the buzzy footwear designer Anderson tapped to lead shoes at Dior this summer. —Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 1 Oct. 2025

Stankonia collaborators remember Outkast feeling confident during recording sessions for their fourth studio album, which has been lauded for bringing the Dirty South hip-hop sensibility to such genres as funk, gospel and psychedelia. —Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 1 Oct. 2025

And then the Italian sensibility, Antonio Girardi. —H. Alan Scott, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025

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)