Word family noun sense ≠ nonsense sensibility ≠ insensibility sensitivity ≠ insensitivity senselessness sensitization sensor adjective sensible insensible senseless sensitive ≠ insensitive sensory nonsensical insensate verb sense sensitize adverb sensibly senselessly sensitively ≠ insensitively
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsensiblesen‧si‧ble /ˈsensəbəl/ ●●○ S3 W3 adjective 1 SENSIBLEreasonable, practical, and showing good judgment She seems very sensible. sensible advice It’s sensible to keep a note of your passport number. Moving house seemed like the sensible thing to do. ► A sensible person is reasonable and shows good judgment. A sensitive person is easily upset, or understands other people’s feelings and problems.2 DCsuitable for a particular purpose, and practical rather than fashionable Eat a sensible diet and exercise daily. an old woman in sensible shoes and a neat skirt3 formalOBVIOUS noticeable a sensible increase in temperature4 → be sensible of something —sensibly adverbExamples from the Corpus
sensible• People are far more sensible about what and how much they drink these days.• He gave me some very sensible advice.• The additional assessment is a sensible and welcome attempt to differentiate students' performance by assessing higher-order skills.• We aim to help clients make financially sensible choices.• But Zogg has made some sensible decisions.• He was sensible enough to see that Jake was the best candidate for the job.• It would be sensible for dioceses to establish procedures for arbitration in case these are needed to settle disputes.• Laura's a pretty sensible girl. I don't think she'd talk to strangers.• On the whole, Sam was a sensible, intelligent person.• But as the table below suggests, they distort reality well beyond sensible limits.• He's one of the few sensible people on the council.• She said that sensible people weren't led astray by infatuation.• If anyone has any sensible suggestions as to how to deal with this, please let me know.• The sensible thing to do would be to rest until you feel better.• Perhaps - in fact most certainly - it would be sensible to face the possibility.• They're sensible to keep us in here.• It would have been more sensible to save the money than to spend it all on clothes.• Be sensible - you can't go out without a coat in this weather.the sensible thing to do• Isn't this the sensible thing to do?• It drives men mad, but it's the sensible thing to do.• Might be the sensible thing to do, all things considered.• She knew the sensible thing to do was to go, yet she wanted to stay.• No, the sensible thing to do was to put it out of his mind and never refer to it again.• He knew the sensible thing to do was to remain silent and let her cry away.sensible shoes• Are they all gym teachers with short fingernails, sensible shoes and leathery skin?• She looked at them with distaste in their sensible shoes and thick bandage.• They wore rough overcoats over their hand-woven cotton saris, and sensible shoes suitable for their work.• An old lady in a pink sweater and sensible shoes walked by.Origin sensible (1300-1400) Old French Latin sensibilis, from sensus; → SENSE1 