sensibility
noun
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The meanings of sensibility run the gamut from mere sensation to excessive sentimentality, but we’re here to help you make sense of it all. In between is a capacity for delicate appreciation, a sense often pluralized. In Jane Austen’s books, sensibility is mostly an admirable quality she attributes to, or finds lacking in, her characters: “He had ... a sensibility to what was amiable and lovely” (of Mr. Elliot in Persuasion). In Sense and Sensibility, however, Austen starts out by ascribing to Marianne sensibleness, on the one hand, but an “excess of sensibility” on the other: “Her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation ... she was everything but prudent.”
Examples of sensibility in a Sentence
Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 2 Jan. 2026
This property, aiming to meld that elegant European sensibility with local charm, opened in April of 2022.
—Emily Adler, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Jan. 2026
His critical optimism, rooted in a rigorous scientific worldview and a deeply humanistic sensibility, is imperiled today in a cultural moment marked by broad skepticism of scientific research and the promise of higher education.
—Joshua Bennett, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2026
From brooches to ballgowns, a first lady’s sartorial sensibilities can tell the story of her husband’s (or her own) politics and priorities.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 2 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sensibility
Cite this Entry
“Sensibility.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sensibility. Accessed 6 Jan. 2026.
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sensibility
noun
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sensibility
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