1. Word finder
  2. Word definitions
  3. sensible

Find the word definition

What is "sensible"

Crossword clues for sensible

sensible
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
sensible
adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a sensible compromise
▪ The strikes continued and there seemed to be no chance of a sensible compromise.
a sensible suggestion
▪ This was the first sensible suggestion she had heard from him.
a sensible/proper diet
▪ Students don’t always eat a sensible diet.
a sensible/wise precaution
▪ Fitting window locks is a sensible precaution.
sensible shoes (=flat shoes that are not very fashionable)
▪ They were the kind of sensible shoes my mother used to make me wear.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
eminently
▪ This seems to me to be an eminently sensible arrangement, and I think this sort of structure could also work here.
▪ The idea of putting large numbers of people to sleep struck me at first as being eminently sensible.
▪ Some at least of the leading Romans felt and behaved in a way which seemed to him perfectly understandable and eminently sensible.
▪ This seems eminently sensible, and indeed studies indicate that this approach can work best for some people.
▪ Some of the reforms are eminently sensible and have been introduced.
▪ I agreed with her and thought that her comments were eminently sensible.
▪ At face value, decentralisation of services into communities seems eminently sensible, and reference centres have been effective in some countries.
▪ This is a further, but eminently sensible, erosion of the principle of orality.
more
▪ But she was more sensible than Emily.
▪ She would be as entrancing as Clarisa, but far more sensible.
▪ It would be much more sensible for you to marry a woman with money.
▪ No one on the farm spoke Hindi so it seemed more sensible to try to pick up Marwari from the servants.
▪ What I am advocating is balanced view of your own work and a more sensible approach to its shortcomings.
▪ In fact, on second thoughts, would it not be far more sensible to invite Emilia to come to Cambridge?
▪ Not to be unique had seemed to her intolerable, but she was getting more sensible.
▪ Something like Baker is much more sensible.
most
▪ The conclusion seems most sensible when applied to the displays between rivals for a mate, for food or for territory.
▪ The most sensible method compares the debt to the size of the economy.
▪ At home, Marks &038; Spencer is considered the most sensible place for the middle class to shop.
▪ Actually, they were one of the most sensible things that the earlier white explorers brought with them.
▪ This was quite the most sensible arrangement; it was more fun for the children too.
▪ Elizabeth is the second oldest of five sisters, and easily the wisest and most sensible.
▪ In many cases, the most sensible location for an extraction fan is in the ceiling.
▪ Well, small-minded politicos and big-moneyed utility interests made sure this sun-drenched region never fully developed its most sensible energy alternative.
only
▪ This empirical emphasis is only sensible when the factors which policy makers think merit funding can be measured accurately enough.
▪ And it does have its attendant problems which it is only sensible to recognise.
perfectly
▪ Moreover although, with hindsight, such a classification appears scientifically absurd it is zoologically perfectly sensible.
▪ But look at it the other way. 37 per cent of those questioned think that road pricing is perfectly sensible.
▪ This is a perfectly sensible strategy.
▪ Politically, her pro-home bias was perfectly sensible.
▪ Many perfectly sensible and intelligent people could be trained to make a contribution to inspection.
so
▪ Arthur Ransome's children are so sensible, responsible, and restrained.
▪ That was why it was so sensible to have it done early, before the little lines and pouches became obvious.
very
▪ This sounds all very sensible until you realize what it means in human terms.
▪ It was a very sensible, rational decision at the time.
▪ It was all very sensible and creditable.
▪ The reasoning was very sensible, the logic very sound, and it was fatefully wrong.
▪ Presumably, he had warned her off. Very sensible, given the gossip that was whirling up around their heads.
▪ Where this is the case, a study of visual communication would be very sensible.
▪ Committee Chairman, Helen Martini, said it was a very sensible, if unusual decision.
▪ Their not washing, or rather not washing in the conventional Western manner, was a very sensible thing indeed.
■ NOUN
advice
▪ Diana was treated with kid gloves when all she needed was some sensible advice, a cuddle and a consoling word.
▪ This sensible advice goes for everyone, fat or thin.
▪ It may be wise and sensible advice given certain circumstances.
▪ But she provided him with loyalty, sensible advice and a closely shared experience of life for over fifty years.
▪ The only sensible advice here is to stop.
approach
▪ What I am advocating is balanced view of your own work and a more sensible approach to its shortcomings.
▪ Their parents had a sensible approach to the matter.
▪ Such a sensible approach should ease some of the pain.
course
▪ On Tuesday, they decided that the most sensible course must be to return to London.
▪ I can think of many times I have been saved from folly by employees who talked me into a more sensible course.
▪ The only sensible course was never to start it in the first place.
▪ Emphasising the positive and then adding qualifies seems a sensible course of action to take.
▪ She knew what the sensible course of action was.
▪ He firmly believed this was the only sensible course to pursue.
▪ It's not as if murdering the Admiral was a sensible course of action.
▪ The only sensible course of action is to decide which is the more likely and try the treatment for that problem first.
decision
▪ She wasn't going to be able to reach any sensible decision while she was anywhere near this house.
▪ This can not have been an economically sensible decision.
▪ A sensible decision, made in good time.
▪ It was evident that the sensible decision had been reached to let the two most concerned fight it out alone.
▪ The problem is that being in love is so overwhelming it can be hard to make sensible decisions.
▪ But Zogg has made some sensible decisions.
▪ Competition only works effectively if consumers have the information they need to make sensible decisions.
diet
▪ The sensible diet and strict routine also did him good, but the surrogate maternal love was best of all.
▪ Even a slight decrease, a sensible diet, will get you the results you want.
▪ Regular exercise and a sensible diet will help keep your weight down and reduce the risk.
discussion
▪ Until now, this simple complaint has been enough to suffocate any sensible discussion of reform.
▪ Reagan was ahead of the curve in his sensible discussion of the economics of Social Security.
girl
▪ And, though I believe she is at heart a sensible girl, she might be driven to do something silly.
▪ Which she did very quickly, being a sensible girl.
▪ A nice, sensible girl, mad on animals, and very helpful to me at times.
▪ It would be a very sensible thing to do and Jane Postlethwaite was a sensible girl.
idea
▪ In the end it was Harry Dunstaple who approached him with a really sensible idea.
▪ Everyone agreed that this was a sensible idea.
▪ Most media release paper is designed to attract attention and if this is not overdone it is a sensible idea.
▪ That seemed like the most sensible idea.
▪ There are several economical and sensible ideas in the design which are carefully related to the urban situation.
▪ Naturally, this sensible idea was defeated.
▪ Even if they feel quite well, an annual check-up after the age of sixty is a sensible idea.
level
▪ There a new realism and prices are coming down to sensible levels.
▪ The judge said it had sunk below a sensible level.
man
▪ Doctor Sparrow is clearly a sensible man.
▪ Ellen thought Swedenborg was a sensible man.
▪ Roy Jenkins, an extremely sensible man who is less vulnerable to criticism than most, regarded the matter with mild amusement.
▪ Still a sensible man, the Harvey.
▪ The sensible man built his house on rock.
▪ No trace of dye - sensible man accepted his age.
▪ He is a sensible man, so I am going to take his advice.
▪ There were sensible men who thought him the finest evangelist of his generation.
people
▪ She said that sensible people weren't led astray by infatuation.
▪ By this time the body count was getting so high, sensible people refused to ride along with us.
▪ Just a business arrangement between two sensible people who no longer think of love.
person
▪ A sensible person respected the sleeping beast and crept away.
▪ Whichever way we say this, any sensible person knows that the staying home is because of the rain.
▪ I've always thought of myself as a sensible person, yet I allowed myself to do that.
▪ You did what any sensible person would have done, and you did it in his own interests.
▪ After repeated attempts a more sensible person would have given up.
▪ No sensible person will say whence Time has come.
▪ But no sensible person enjoys rows and he isn't at fault for wanting a quiet life.
policy
▪ I hope I can make a contribution in this book toward boosting demand for sensible policies.
▪ Any sensible policy concerned with reducing crime - crime can never be abolished - needs three components.
▪ There is only one good solution to capital flight: shaky governments must restore confidence by adopting sensible policies.
▪ It was a sensible policy - if they could afford it.
▪ I expect to see the trend continue if sensible policies continue to be pursued.
▪ When the government began to adopt more sensible policies after 1905, the supply of fanatics dried up.
precaution
▪ Seemed like a sensible precaution to me.
▪ An easy-wipe plastic mat under the food bowl is therefore a sensible precaution.
▪ Again, professional financial advice on the advantages and disadvantages of this form of borrowing seems a sensible precaution against financial embarrassment.
▪ Provision of a stair guard, and secure door and window locks, are sensible precautions with children.
▪ When interviewing is employed, the use of multiple independent interviewers is a sensible precaution.
▪ People have taken very few sensible precautions to stop young male burglars breaking in.
▪ In truth, with sensible precautions, Morrissey could have easily travelled to the salon.
▪ Egerton went, taking the very sensible precaution of asking Mickey Skinner along as a bodyguard.
shoe
▪ She looked at them with distaste in their sensible shoes and thick bandage.
▪ Are they all gym teachers with short fingernails, sensible shoes and leathery skin?
▪ They wore rough overcoats over their hand-woven cotton saris, and sensible shoes suitable for their work.
thing
▪ I mean, the sensible thing would have been to go to her room, wouldn't it?
▪ Actually, they were one of the most sensible things that the earlier white explorers brought with them.
▪ However, if you are going to fly solo, refusing is the only sensible thing to do.
▪ In the evaluation report some wise and many sensible things were said.
▪ An appropriate time for Dole to speak his mind; and, at one level, an obviously sensible thing to do.
▪ Their not washing, or rather not washing in the conventional Western manner, was a very sensible thing indeed.
▪ The sensible thing would have been to turn to some one, some sympathetic teacher, perhaps.
▪ I did the only sensible thing any panic-stricken woman would have done under similar circumstances: I packed.
things
▪ In the evaluation report some wise and many sensible things were said.
▪ Actually, they were one of the most sensible things that the earlier white explorers brought with them.
▪ She couldn't wait to become famous so she too could do sensible things like that without getting picked on.
▪ According to this, the existence of sensible things consists solely in their actually being perceived.
▪ On education, for example, and speaking as a headmaster, it seemed to him that Qaddafi had written sensible things.
▪ Even in the war - now I look back - when lots of other people - women - were doing sensible things.
▪ Although the book as a whole is unsatisfactory, Ornstein does have some sensible things to say.
way
▪ Over a mile, the only sensible way to ride Pendero was to use his stamina, not hold him up.
▪ There would be no heat in the church, nor any sensible way for the congregation to get there.
▪ Collaboration between the royal society and family health services authorities would be a sensible way forward in improving dispensing standards.
▪ There are sensible ways of dealing with it.
▪ More generally, it is quite difficult to find sensible ways of combining phrase searching with word searching.
▪ One sensible way would be a widespread move to a four-day work week.
▪ In addition, he was able to encourage her to tackle her other problems in a practical and sensible way.
▪ I did not believe that it was a sensible way of making policy.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
sb doesn't do nice/funny/sensible etc
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Be sensible - you can't go out without a coat in this weather.
▪ He's one of the few sensible people on the council.
▪ He gave me some very sensible advice.
▪ He was sensible enough to see that Jake was the best candidate for the job.
▪ If anyone has any sensible suggestions as to how to deal with this, please let me know.
▪ It would have been more sensible to save the money than to spend it all on clothes.
▪ Laura's a pretty sensible girl. I don't think she'd talk to strangers.
▪ On the whole, Sam was a sensible, intelligent person.
▪ People are far more sensible about what and how much they drink these days.
▪ The sensible thing to do would be to rest until you feel better.
▪ We aim to help clients make financially sensible choices.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ But as the table below suggests, they distort reality well beyond sensible limits.
▪ But Zogg has made some sensible decisions.
▪ It would be sensible for dioceses to establish procedures for arbitration in case these are needed to settle disputes.
▪ Perhaps - in fact most certainly - it would be sensible to face the possibility.
▪ She said that sensible people weren't led astray by infatuation.
▪ The additional assessment is a sensible and welcome attempt to differentiate students' performance by assessing higher-order skills.
▪ They're sensible to keep us in here.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Sensible

Sensible \Sen"si*ble\, a. [F., fr. L. sensibilis, fr. sensus sense.]

  1. Capable of being perceived by the senses; apprehensible through the bodily organs; hence, also, perceptible to the mind; making an impression upon the sense, reason, or understanding; ?????? heat; sensible resistance.

    Air is sensible to the touch by its motion.
    --Arbuthnot.

    The disgrace was more sensible than the pain.
    --Sir W. Temple.

    Any very sensible effect upon the prices of things.
    --A. Smith.

  2. Having the capacity of receiving impressions from external objects; capable of perceiving by the instrumentality of the proper organs; liable to be affected physsically or mentally; impressible.

    Would your cambric were sensible as your finger.
    --Shak.

  3. Hence: Liable to impression from without; easily affected; having nice perception or acute feeling; sensitive; also, readily moved or affected by natural agents; delicate; as, a sensible thermometer. ``With affection wondrous sensible.''
    --Shak.

  4. Perceiving or having perception, either by the senses or the mind; cognizant; perceiving so clearly as to be convinced; satisfied; persuaded.

    He [man] can not think at any time, waking or sleeping, without being sensible of it.
    --Locke.

    They are now sensible it would have been better to comply than to refuse.
    --Addison.

  5. Having moral perception; capable of being affected by moral good or evil.

  6. Possessing or containing sense or reason; giftedwith, or characterized by, good or common sense; intelligent; wise.

    Now a sensible man, by and by a fool.
    --Shak.

    Sensible note or Sensible tone (Mus.), the major seventh note of any scale; -- so called because, being but a half step below the octave, or key tone, and naturally leading up to that, it makes the ear sensible of its approaching sound. Called also the leading tone.

    Sensible horizon. See Horizon, n., 2. (a) .

    Syn: Intelligent; wise.

    Usage: Sensible, Intelligent. We call a man sensible whose judgments and conduct are marked and governed by sound judgment or good common semse. We call one intelligent who is quick and clear in his understanding, i. e., who discriminates readily and nicely in respect to difficult and important distinction. The sphere of the sensible man lies in matters of practical concern; of the intelligent man, in subjects of intellectual interest. ``I have been tired with accounts from sensible men, furnished with matters of fact which have happened within their own knowledge.''
    --Addison. ``Trace out numerous footsteps . . . of a most wise and intelligent architect throughout all this stupendous fabric.''
    --Woodward.

Sensible

Sensible \Sen"si*ble\, n.

  1. Sensation; sensibility. [R.] ''Our temper changed . . . which must needs remove the sensible of pain.''
    --Milton.

  2. That which impresses itself on the sense; anything perceptible.

    Aristotle distinguished sensibles into common and proper.
    --Krauth-Fleming.

  3. That which has sensibility; a sensitive being. [R.]

    This melancholy extends itself not to men only, but even to vegetals and sensibles.
    --Burton.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
sensible

late 14c., "capable of sensation or feeling;" also "capable of being sensed or felt, perceptible to the senses," hence "easily understood; logical, reasonable," from Late Latin sensibilis "having feeling, perceptible by the senses," from sensus, past participle of sentire "perceive, feel" (see sense (n.)). Of persons, "aware, cognizant (of something)" early 15c.; "having good sense, capable of reasoning, discerning, clever," mid-15c. Of clothes, shoes, etc., "practical rather than fashionable" it is attested from 1855.\n

\nOther Middle English senses included "susceptible to injury or pain" (early 15c., now gone with sensitive); "worldly, temporal, outward" (c.1400); "carnal, unspiritual" (early 15c., now gone with sensual). Related: Sensibleness.

Wiktionary
sensible

a. 1 (context now dated or formal English) perceptible by the senses. 2 easily perceived; appreciable. 3 (context archaic English) able to feel or perceive. 4 (context archaic English) Liable to external impression; easily affected; sensitive. 5 Of or pertaining to the senses; sensory. 6 (context archaic English) cognizant; having the perception of something; aware of something. 7 act with or showing good sense; able to make good judgements based on reason. 8 Characterized more by usefulness or practicality than by fashionableness, especially of clothing. n. 1 (context obsolete English) sensation; sensibility. 2 (context obsolete English) That which impresses itself on the senses; anything perceptible. 3 (context obsolete English) That which has sensibility; a sensitive being.

WordNet
sensible

  1. adj. showing reason or sound judgment; "a sensible choice"; "a sensible person" [syn: reasonable] [ant: unreasonable]

  2. able to feel or perceive; "even amoeba are sensible creatures"; "the more sensible p enveloping(a), shrouding(a), concealing,& (concealing by enclosing or wrapping as if in something that is not solid; "the enveloping darkness"; "hills concealed by shrouding mists") arts of the skin" [syn: sensitive] [ant: insensible]

  3. acting with or showing thought and good sense; "a sensible young man" [syn: thoughtful]

  4. marked by the exercise of good judgment or common sense in practical matters; "judicious use of one's money"; "a sensible manager"; "a wise decision" [syn: judicious, wise]

  5. readily perceived by the senses; "the sensible universe"; "a sensible odor"

  6. aware intuitively or intellectually of something sensed; "made sensible of his mistakes"; "I am sensible that the mention of such a circumstance may appear trifling"- Henry Hallam; "sensible that a good deal more is still to be done"- Edmund Burke

  7. proceeding from good sense or judgment; "a sensible choice" [syn: judicious]

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Sensible

Sensible may refer to:

  • Captain Sensible (born 1954), English rock guitarist
  • French frigate Sensible (1788), a 32-gun Magicienne-class frigate
  • Sensible Sentencing Trust, a lobby group
  • Sensible Software, a defunct video game company
Related phrases:

Usage examples of "sensible".

Laud and his associates, by reviving a few primitive institutions of this nature, corrected the error of the first reformers, and presented to the affrightened and astonished mind some sensible, exterior observances, which might occupy it during its religious exercises, and abate the violence of its disappointed efforts.

Even with this anguish for his mother tightening about him, he was sensible of the wonder of living this evening.

A first principle is that the knowing of sensible objects is an act of the soul, or of the living conjoint, becoming aware of the quality of certain corporeal entities, and appropriating the ideas present in them.

The only sensible quality of the Speedwell is the powerful astringency of its leaves, and this property serves to protect it from herbivorous foes.

Gamesmen of Barish while she asked sensible, penetrating questions in a manner which reminded me much of Himaggery on his better days.

A sensible man, my dear Christine, when he has been rightly brought up, never ventures upon such a question, because he is not only certain to displease, but also sure that he will never know the truth, for if the truth is likely to injure a woman in the opinion of her husband, she would be very foolish, indeed, to confess it.

On the other hand, if the animal is sensible to pain, the stimulation of sensory nerves, or any sharp or sudden pang, TEND TO CAUSE A RISE IN THE PRESSURE OF THE BLOOD, unless the creature has become exhausted by the experimentation to which it has been subjected.

He was not so sensible another time when he expressed a wish to have been Raphael.

Charles, sensible that an extorted consent, attended with such invidious circumstances, would rather be prejudicial to his measures, had wholly laid aside the use of assemblies, and was resolved, in conjunction with the bishops, to govern the church by an authority to which he thought himself fully entitled, and which he believed inherent in the crown.

His homily led off with such fulsome praise of Monsieur, that, from that day forward, he lost all his credit, and sensible people thereafter only looked upon him as a vile sycophant, a mere dealer in flattery and fairy-tales.

During two days the king rejected his application: but sensible, either that this affair might be attended with dangerous consequences, or that in his impatience he had groundlessly accused the primate of malversation in his office, which seems really to have been the case, he at last permitted him to take his seat, and was reconciled to him.

In this form, as in the Acepan, the response was predominantly flight, the Ket species having matured into a sensible preference to avoid danger whenever possible.

Besides, he is far too intelligent and sensible a man to have a midlife crisis.

The third species of quality contains only sensible passions or sensible qualities.

Cruel indeed would it be if such a work as this history, which hath employed some thousands of hours in the composing, should be liable to be condemned, because some particular chapter, or perhaps chapters, may be obnoxious to very just and sensible objections.