1
general::
sense
adjectives
a strong/great sense of something
• He had a strong sense of responsibility.
a real sense of something
(= a strong feeling )
• Children need to feel a real sense of belonging.
a deep sense of something
(= a very strong feeling )
• He felt a deep sense of disappointment.
a growing sense of something
(= becoming stronger )
• She looked around with a growing sense of unease.
a vague/slight sense of something
(= not very strong )
• There was a slight sense of embarrassment.
verbs
feel/have a sense of something
• I felt a great sense of pride.
give somebody a sense of something
• The job gave her a sense of control over her life.
convey a sense of something
• We want to convey our sense of excitement to the audience.
phrases
a sense of relief/panic/guilt etc
• We reached the medical centre with a sense of relief.
a sense of purpose/direction
(= a feeling that you know what you are trying to achieve )
• Becoming a mother had given her a new sense of purpose.
a sense of urgency
(= a feeling that something is urgent )
• The rescuers felt a real sense of urgency now.
a sense of responsibility/duty
(= a feeling that you must do something because it is right )
• Parents try to give their children a sense of responsibility.
a sense of loss
(= a feeling of sadness for someone or something you no longer have )
• Many women experience a sense of loss when their children leave home.
a sense of achievement/satisfaction
(= a feeling that you have achieved something good )
• Even a small success gives a sense of achievement.
a sense of security
(= a feeling that you are safe )
• A lack of trust in the parents can undermine the child's sense of security at home.
a false sense of security
(= a feeling that you are safe, which is not actually true )
• They were lulled into a false sense of security.
a sense of identity
(= a feeling of knowing who you are and how you belong to a community )
• Change can threaten our fragile sense of identity.
a sense of belonging
(= a feeling that you belong to a group )
• The organization tries to foster a sense of belonging through these social events.
a sense of occasion
(= a feeling that an event is special or important )
• It was a marvellous day and there was a real sense of occasion.
sense 2
phrases
a sense of humour
British English , a sense of humor American English (= the ability to laugh and enjoy things that are funny )
• A good teacher needs a sense of humour.
a sense of fun
(= the ability to enjoy yourself and make things fun )
• What I liked about Maria was her sense of fun.
a sense of direction
(= the ability to judge which way you should be going )
• The place was completely dark and I lost all sense of direction.
a sense of proportion
(= the ability to judge how important or unimportant something is )
• It’s important to keep a sense of proportion.
a sense of timing
(= the ability to choose the right moment to do or say something )
• He told the story with an exquisite sense of timing.
a sense of justice/fairness
• I appealed to her sense of justice.
a good/great sense of something
• He is a popular boy with a good sense of humour.
a natural sense of something
(= a natural ability )
• She did not have a natural sense of direction.
a keen sense of something
(= a good ability to judge something )
• As a lawyer, he had a keen sense of the value of political connections.
dress/clothes sense
(= an ability to choose clothes well )
• Her dress sense was faultless.
business sense
(= an ability to make good decisions in business )
• Few young people have much business sense.
have a sense of something
• She seems to have a great sense of the right thing to say.
lose your sense of something
• Come on! Have you lost your sense of humour?
lose all sense of something
• He seemed to have lost all sense of proportion.
keep/retain a sense of something
• Throughout it all she retained her sense of fun.
sense 3
phrases
a sense of smell/taste/touch etc
• We lose some of the sense of taste as we get older.
the five senses
• We use all five senses to explore the world around us.
adjectives
a good/keen/acute sense of something
• Pigs have a keen sense of smell.
a poor sense of something
• Owls and other predatory birds have a poor sense of smell.
verbs
have a sense of something
• You have to have a good sense of hearing to play the violin.
lose your sense of something
• I think I’m losing my sense of smell.
sense 4
nouns
sense danger
• He stiffened, sensing danger.
sense trouble
• The other women, sensing trouble, immediately began to edge away.
sense the tension
• I could sense the tension in the court as the jury returned.
sense sb’s presence
(= be aware that someone is there )
• He sensed her presence, but didn’t look at her.
sense sb’s fear/excitement/reluctance etc
• Luke paused and she sensed his reluctance to continue.
sense sb’s mood
(= be aware of how someone is feeling )
• He instinctively sensed her mood and changed the subject.
transnet.ir
2
general::
noun one of the five natural physical powers of the body ADJ. acute, good, keen | poor | sixth VERB + SENSE have He has an acute sense of smell. | lose She lost her sense of hearing early in life. | regain | heighten, sharpen | dull | appeal to He argued that art should appeal to the senses rather than the intellect. SENSE + VERB tell sb When she came to, her senses told her she was lying on a sandy beach. | reel, swim Her senses reeled as she fought for consciousness. SENSE + NOUN organ PREP. through the ~s Although he can't see, he learns a lot through his other senses. PHRASES an assault on the senses, the evidence of your senses, the five senses, the sense of hearing/sight/smell/taste/touch understanding/awareness of sth ADJ. deep, great, keen, strong, tremendous He felt a deep sense of relief after the phone call. | growing, heightened | slight, vague a vague sense of unease | innate, intuitive, natural a natural sense of justice | moral VERB + SENSE feel, have | display, show | give sb | lose | heighten, sharpen | dull PREP. ~ of He seems to have lost his sense of reality. natural ability to do/produce sth well ADJ. good | bad, poor | innate, intuitive, natural | business, dress He has no dress sense. VERB + SENSE have PREP. ~ of a good sense of direction/rhythm/timing ability to think/act in a sensible way ADJ. good | common, horse Common sense tells me I should get more sleep. VERB + SENSE have He at least had the sense to call the police. | display, show | learn I wish my daughter would learn some sense. SENSE + VERB tell sb PHRASES have more money than sense, (not) an ounce of sense If you had an ounce of sense, you'd never have agreed to help him. reason ADJ. perfect It all makes perfect sense (= is easy to understand). VERB + SENSE make | see I tried to make him see sense, but he just wouldn't listen. | talk If you can't talk sense, I'm leaving! PREP. ~ in There's a lot of sense in what he's saying. PHRASES talk sense into sb We'll try and talk a little sense into her. | there's no sense in sth There's no sense in going home before the film. your senses: ability to think clearly VERB + SENSE come to, regain | take leave of Have you taken leave of your senses? | bring sb to PHRASES in your (right) senses No one in their right senses would give him the job! meaning ADJ. broad, wide The novel is about education in its widest sense. | narrow, strict | accepted | figurative, metaphorical | literal | pejorative | legal, technical VERB + SENSE have That word has three senses. | make That sentence doesn't make sense (= has no meaning). PREP. in a ~ In a sense, she's right. PHRASES in every sense of the word, in a very real sense In a very real sense, post-war repression was the continuation of the war. | in the true sense of the word, verb ADV. clearly, strongly I sensed quite strongly that she was angry with me. | dimly, vaguely | just Maybe she could just sense what I needed. | intuitively
Oxford Collocations Dictionary