sense 1 S1 W1 / sens / 名词

1 [可数名词] a feeling about something

sense of

Afterwards, I felt a great sense of relief.

A sense of panic has spread over the country.

Employees need the sense of being appreciated.

with a sense of something

He looked around the room with a sense of achievement.

sense that

I had the sense that he was lying.

2 [单数形式] the ability to understand or judge something

sense of humour British English sense of humor American English (= the ability to understand and enjoy things that are funny )

I like Pam – she has a really good sense of humour .

sense of direction (= the ability to judge which way you should be going, or what your aims should be )

It was dark and he had completely lost his sense of direction .

sense of proportion (= the ability to judge what is important and what is not important )

Let’s keep a sense of proportion, and not rush to any hasty conclusions.

sense of justice/fairness

Kids have a natural sense of justice .

dress/clothes sense (= the ability to judge which clothes look good )

3 [可数名词] one of the five natural powers of sight, hearing, feeling, taste, and smell, that give us information about the things around us

sense of smell/taste/touch etc

She has a good sense of smell.

Cats have a very acute sense of hearing (= very good, so that they can hear even the smallest sound ) .

Combinations of flavors, textures, and color that can delight the senses .

the five senses (= all of the senses ) → sixth sense

4 [不可数名词] when someone makes sensible or practical decisions, or behaves in a sensible practical way

have the sense to do something (= behave in a sensible way and do what is best in that situation )

You should have had the sense to turn off the electricity first.

there is no sense in (doing) something spoken (= it is not sensible to do something )

There’s no sense in getting upset about it now.

see sense (= realize what is the sensible thing to do )

I wish the politicians would see sense and stop the war.

talk/knock some sense into somebody (= try to make someone behave in a more sensible way ) → common sense

5 make sense

a) to have a clear meaning and be easy to understand :

Read this and tell me if it makes sense.

b) to be a sensible thing to do

it makes sense (for somebody) to do something

It makes sense to save money while you can.

Would it make sense for the city authorities to further restrict parking?

c) if something makes sense, there seems to be a good reason or explanation for it :

Why did she do a thing like that? It doesn’t seem to make sense.

6 make (some) sense of something to understand something, especially something difficult or complicated :

Can you make any sense of this article?

7 [可数名词] the meaning of a word, sentence, 短语 etc :

The word ‘record’ has several different senses.

Any alteration would spoil the sense of the entire poem.

8 [可数名词] a way in which something can be true or real

in a sense/in one sense/in some senses etc (= in one way, in some ways etc )

What he says is right, in a sense.

The hotel was in no sense (= not at all ) comfortable.

George was a big man in every sense of the word (= in every way ) .

This is true in a general sense .

Communication, in any real sense (= of any real kind ) , was extremely limited.

in a (very) real sense (= used to emphasize that a statement or description is true )

A head of a school is a manager in a very real sense.

9 your/her etc senses someone’s ability to think clearly and behave sensibly – used in some expressions when you think that someone has lost this ability

come to your senses (= to start to think clearly and behave sensibly again )

One day he’ll come to his senses and see what a fool he’s been.

See if you can bring her to her senses (= make someone think clearly and behave sensibly ) .

be out of your senses (= have lost the ability to think clearly and behave sensibly )

Are you completely out of your senses? → take leave of your senses at leave 2 ( 6 )

10 talk sense spoken to say things that are reasonable or sensible – often used when you think someone has just said something silly :

Talk sense! There’s no way we can afford a new car!

11 regain your senses old-fashioned to stop feeling faint or slightly sick

COLLOCATIONS

形容词

a strong/great sense of something He had a strong sense of responsibility.

a real sense of something (= a strong feeling ) Children need to feel a real sense of belonging.

a deep sense of something (= a very strong feeling ) He felt a deep sense of disappointment.

a growing sense of something (= becoming stronger ) She looked around with a growing sense of unease.

a vague/slight sense of something (= not very strong ) There was a slight sense of embarrassment.

动词

feel/have a sense of something I felt a great sense of pride.

give somebody a sense of something The job gave her a sense of control over her life.

convey a sense of something We want to convey our sense of excitement to the audience.

短语

a sense of relief/panic/guilt etc We reached the medical centre with a sense of relief.

a sense of purpose/direction (= a feeling that you know what you are trying to achieve ) Becoming a mother had given her a new sense of purpose.

a sense of urgency (= a feeling that something is urgent ) The rescuers felt a real sense of urgency now.

a sense of responsibility/duty (= a feeling that you must do something because it is right ) Parents try to give their children a sense of responsibility.

a sense of loss (= a feeling of sadness for someone or something you no longer have ) Many women experience a sense of loss when their children leave home.

a sense of achievement/satisfaction (= a feeling that you have achieved something good ) Even a small success gives a sense of achievement.

a sense of security (= a feeling that you are safe ) A lack of trust in the parents can undermine the child’s sense of security at home.

a false sense of security (= a feeling that you are safe, which is not actually true ) They were lulled into a false sense of security.

a sense of identity (= a feeling of knowing who you are and how you belong to a community ) Change can threaten our fragile sense of identity.

a sense of belonging (= a feeling that you belong to a group ) The organization tries to foster a sense of belonging through these social events.

a sense of occasion (= a feeling that an event is special or important ) It was a marvellous day and there was a real sense of occasion.

COLLOCATIONS

短语

a sense of humour British English , a sense of humor American English (= the ability to laugh and enjoy things that are funny ) A good teacher needs a sense of humour.

a sense of fun (= the ability to enjoy yourself and make things fun ) What I liked about Maria was her sense of fun.

a sense of direction (= the ability to judge which way you should be going ) The place was completely dark and I lost all sense of direction.

a sense of proportion (= the ability to judge how important or unimportant something is ) It’s important to keep a sense of proportion.

a sense of timing (= the ability to choose the right moment to do or say something ) He told the story with an exquisite sense of timing.

a sense of justice/fairness I appealed to her sense of justice.

ADJECTIVES/NOUN + sense

a good/great sense of something He is a popular boy with a good sense of humour.

a natural sense of something (= a natural ability ) She did not have a natural sense of direction.

a keen sense of something (= a good ability to judge something ) As a lawyer, he had a keen sense of the value of political connections.

dress/clothes sense (= an ability to choose clothes well ) Her dress sense was faultless.

business sense (= an ability to make good decisions in business ) Few young people have much business sense.

动词

have a sense of something She seems to have a great sense of the right thing to say.

lose your sense of something Come on! Have you lost your sense of humour?

lose all sense of something He seemed to have lost all sense of proportion.

keep/retain a sense of something Throughout it all she retained her sense of fun.

COLLOCATIONS

短语

a sense of smell/taste/touch etc We lose some of the sense of taste as we get older.

the five senses We use all five senses to explore the world around us.

形容词

a good/keen/acute sense of something Pigs have a keen sense of smell.

a poor sense of something Owls and other predatory birds have a poor sense of smell.

动词

have a sense of something You have to have a good sense of hearing to play the violin.

lose your sense of something I think I’m losing my sense of smell.

COLLOCATIONS

短语

in a sense ( also in one sense ) The results are not terribly surprising in one sense.

in some sense ( also in some senses ) George was perfectly right in some senses.

in every sense He is lucky in every sense.

in no sense (= not at all ) This is in no sense a criticism.

in a general/broad sense In a general sense, a rapid rate of technological change creates uncertainty.

in a (very) real sense (= used to emphasise that a statement or description is true ) The truth is that in a very real sense most families in Britain are not poor.

in a literal sense (= according to the actual or physical meaning of words ) I wasn’t suggesting that in a literal sense.