Meaning & use
sixth sense
Last updated
UK/ˌsɪksθ ˈsens/
US/ˌsɪksθ ˈsens/
Meaning
nounsingular
An ability to know or feel something without using sight, hearing, smell, taste or touch, as if by instinct.
Grammar: Normally singular with an or the: she has a sixth sense.
Patterns
- have a sixth sense about something
- a sixth sense for something
Some sailors seem to have a sixth sense for coming storms.
She had a sixth sense that someone was watching her.
My sixth sense told me the deal was too good to be true.
Common combinations
- have a sixth sense
- Dogs seem to have a sixth sense about earthquakes.
- a sixth sense for danger
- Soldiers often develop a sixth sense for danger.
- trust your sixth sense
- Trust your sixth sense when something feels wrong.
- develop a sixth sense
- Parents develop a sixth sense about their children's moods.
Synonyms and how they differ
- intuition
- Intuition is the standard, neutral word for instinctive knowing, with no suggestion of mystery.
- instinct
- Instinct usually describes natural behavior, whereas a sixth sense implies extra perception.
- gut feeling
- Gut feeling is informal and describes a single hunch rather than an ongoing ability.
- hunch
- A hunch is a specific guess, while a sixth sense is a general ability.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: sixth sense or common sense?
sixth sense vs common sense
Common sense is practical good judgment, while a sixth sense is a mysterious instinct.
Practice
Which sentence best uses sixth sense?
Choose one answer.
A sixth sense is a feeling that seems to go beyond the normal five senses. Only the second option uses it that way.
Make it your own
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