Sensation

How to spell sensation

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce sensation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does sensation mean?

1. nounA physical feeling or perception that the body registers.
2. nounA widespread reaction of excitement or interest, or a person or thing that causes it.

Sensation in a sentence

• A tingling sensation spread through her numb fingers as the cold eased.

• The young singer became an overnight sensation after the broadcast.

• The dentist warned that he might feel a brief sensation of pressure.

• The verdict caused a public sensation that filled the newspapers for weeks.

Where does sensation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb sentire, which meant 'to feel, to perceive, or to sense'. From that verb came the late Latin noun sensatio, describing the act or capacity of perceiving through the senses. English took it in during the 1600s, originally through scholarly and medical writing about how the body registers touch, heat, or pain. Over time it broadened from the strictly physical 'feeling in the body' to mean a strong emotional impression, and then to the modern idea of a public excitement or a person who causes a great stir. The same sentire root still feeds a whole family of relatives, including 'sense', 'sentiment', 'sentence', and 'consent', and that shared 'sens' core is the part to anchor when spelling sensation correctly.

How the word is built

• sens- (from sentire: to feel, perceive)
• -ation (noun of action/state)