aesthetic sense

Meaning

1. 1nounsingular

   A person's natural ability to notice and judge beauty, style and good design.

   Grammar: Usually singular with a possessive: her aesthetic sense, a good aesthetic sense.

   Patterns

   • have a good aesthetic sense
   • someone's aesthetic sense

   Her aesthetic sense is obvious in the way she arranges her flat.

   He has a refined aesthetic sense and always picks balanced colors.

   A strong aesthetic sense helps a designer spot what looks wrong.

Common combinations

a keen aesthetic sense

The editor has a keen aesthetic sense.

a good aesthetic sense

Choosing the font showed his good aesthetic sense.

offend someone's aesthetic sense

The ugly sign offended her aesthetic sense.

develop an aesthetic sense

Museum visits helped him develop an aesthetic sense.

lack an aesthetic sense

The plan seemed to lack any aesthetic sense.

Synonyms and how they differ

good taste

Good taste is more social and suggests approval by others, while aesthetic sense is a personal ability.

artistic eye

Artistic eye stresses visual noticing, while aesthetic sense can include sound, words and design.

sense of style

Sense of style usually refers to clothes and appearance, so it is narrower.

sensibility

Sensibility is wider and includes emotional response, not only judgment of beauty.

Opposites

Word family

aesthetic adjective

relating to beauty

aesthetics noun

the study or principles of beauty

aesthetically adverb

in a way relating to beauty

aesthete noun

a person who loves beauty

Commonly confused: aesthetic sense or anesthetic?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “aesthetic sense”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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