sensibility
noun
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The meanings of sensibility run the gamut from mere sensation to excessive sentimentality. 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
Memoir Nation
july 21, Literary Hub, 21 July 2025
Cultured European country with high percentage of English speakers
Nestled along Europe’s North Sea coast, The Netherlands offers an incredible geographic location for European travel and a solid Continental sensibility.
—William P. Barrett, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025
Many images had a medical sensibility, focussing on the labor of caregiving and the mechanics of wound care.
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
Now our idea is to do original songs in symphonic form with a hip-hop sensibility.
—Roy Trakin, HollywoodReporter, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for sensibility
Cite this Entry
“Sensibility.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sensibility. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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sensibility
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