Meaning & use
sensory
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a noun
Connected with the physical senses, such as sight, hearing, touch, taste, or smell.
Grammar: Usually used before a noun: sensory organs, sensory experience. It is not used after a linking verb like 'be'.
Patterns
- sensory organs
- sensory information
- sensory experience
The brain receives sensory information from the eyes and ears.
Children learn through sensory play, such as touching sand or water.
Certain illnesses can cause sensory loss in the hands and feet.
Common combinations
- sensory perception
- Sensory perception allows us to detect changes in temperature.
- sensory deprivation
- The experiment involved sensory deprivation, with no light or sound.
- sensory overload
- The busy market caused sensory overload for the young child.
- sensory details
- Good descriptive writing includes sensory details like the smell of fresh bread.
Synonyms and how they differ
- perceptual
- Perceptual is more technical and relates to perception in general, while sensory specifically refers to the five physical senses.
Word family
Commonly confused: sensory or sensual? sensory or sensuous?
sensory vs sensual
Sensual means relating to physical pleasure, especially sexual pleasure, while sensory is neutral and about the five senses.
sensory vs sensuous
Sensuous means pleasing to the senses, often in an artistic or luxurious way; sensory is more scientific and neutral.
Practice
The brain processes ______ information from the skin, eyes, and ears.
Choose one answer.
Sensory means relating to the physical senses, which fits the scientific context. Sensual and sensuous relate to pleasure, and sensible means practical or reasonable.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sensory”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.