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common sense

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun common sense contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of common sense are judgment, sense, and wisdom. While all these words mean "ability to reach intelligent conclusions," common sense suggests an average degree of such ability without sophistication or special knowledge.

common sense tells me it's wrong

Where would judgment be a reasonable alternative to common sense?

While the synonyms judgment and common sense are close in meaning, judgment implies sense tempered and refined by experience, training, and maturity.

they relied on her judgment for guidance

When would sense be a good substitute for common sense?

The synonyms sense and common sense are sometimes interchangeable, but sense implies a reliable ability to judge and decide with soundness, prudence, and intelligence.

a choice showing good sense

In what contexts can wisdom take the place of common sense?

The words wisdom and common sense are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, wisdom implies sense and judgment far above average.

a leader of rare wisdom

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of commonsense
Adjective
While speaking with Fox News Digital, Bateman also urged a commonsense approach to the conversation around the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was killed while riding a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ashley Hume , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2025 This multi-billion dollar industry preys on the poorest families in their most desperate times while spending millions of dollars lobbying against commonsense pretrial reform that might impact the industry’s bottomline. Rebecca Wallace, Denver Post, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
Arts Minister Tony Burke framed the move as cultural common sense. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 4 Nov. 2025 Those policies along with his enthusiasm for Citi Bike reflect the likely mayor’s views on the role of government to address safety—as well as his willingness to agree and disagree with his political opponents and back measures that are common sense, socialist or otherwise. Evan Friss, Time, 3 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for commonsense
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commonsense
Adjective
  • Not even a meta ending that pushes that idea to its logical breaking point can sour you on it.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 7 Nov. 2025
  • To be fair, public entities have been stretching public records trade secret exceptions to logical extremes long before college athletes started getting paid—and these carve-outs are often intended to be permissive.
    Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 6 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Additionally, a boom-and-bust cycle in the early 2000s informs some of the company’s prudence on expansion.
    Zev Fima, CNBC, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Meanwhile, Taiwan’s military should exercise prudence in its rules of engagement and not assume that every close call is intentional.
    JOEL WUTHNOW, Foreign Affairs, 12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Relative to the starting pitcher market, his contract -- he is owed $28 million combined over the next two seasons with a club option for 2028 -- is reasonable.
    Shaun McAvoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Nov. 2025
  • The pop punk icon confirmed a slate of upcoming shows for next year on Monday, along with efforts to ensure tickets get in actual fans’ hands for a reasonable price, rather than to resellers who will hawk them at major markups to those who missed out during the initial on-sale.
    Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 10 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Brought together by filmmaker Saúl Alvídrez, these two radical elders share passion, politics, and wisdom.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Sagittarius is the truth-seeker of the zodiac, and its archetype is symbolic of wisdom, expansion and venturing outside of one’s comfort zone.
    Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The ledger is the foundation of reasoned conclusion.
    Big Think, Big Think, 5 Nov. 2025
  • The differences between any given Grokipedia and Wikipedia entry are in some sense hard to debate because there is no shared ground upon which to have a reasoned disagreement; to gravitate toward Grokipedia is to leave the world of evidence for that of belief.
    Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 28 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • These swatches are arranged at different angles to create a sense of chaos, and the pom at the top of the bonnet is replicated as a lace attachment.
    Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 11 Nov. 2025
  • If the coach decides to break that cycle, the Giants and their dynamic young quarterback should make all the sense in the world to him.
    Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • At 48 percent off, the traveler-adored Matein Travel Laptop Backpack is an excellent, sensible gift that can function as both a personal item and an everyday sightseeing tote.
    Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Understanding the absurdity of one trillion anything makes the $38 trillion US national debt that economists have been blathering on about for years look almost sensible.
    Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Our people have a horse sense for what good work is.
    Beth Greenfield, Fortune, 1 July 2024
  • His words of wisdom are tinged with wit and old-fashioned horse sense.
    Valerie Fraser Luesse, Southern Living, 2 Jan. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Commonsense.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commonsense. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.

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