kinesthetic

[ kin-uhs-thet-ik ]

adjective

1. Psychology, Physiology. having to do with movement or sensation, especially within the body:

   One quintessential spa experience was to go back and forth from the scalding hot pool to the ice cold pool, sending your body into a heightened kinesthetic state.

2. needing to move:

   Some teachers feel that their most energetic and distractible students are actually kinesthetic learners, who need to get their whole body involved in the learning process.

Other Words From

• kin·es·thet·ic·al·ly especially British, kin·aes·thet·ic·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of kinesthetic¹

First recorded in 1890–95 as kinæsthetic; kinesthe(sia) ( def ) + -tic ( def )

Example Sentences

“We call it the kinesthetic sense, if someone's spotting the wall or the floor or the ceiling, as they're twisting, they get an idea of where they are,” Shapiro said, adding that a gymnast might be looking for the floor as they're about to land.

From Salon

“But when you have the twisties, that kinesthetic awareness, that sense of where your body is in space, is what’s off.”

From Salon

What’s shocking is the kinesthetic impact.

From New York Times

According to popular educational theory, some kids are what educators call tactile learners; they do especially well with a kinesthetic instruction that involves actively doing over passively absorbing.

From Seattle Times

That's what we did with the cinematography in those moments and with the editing and Florence's amazing performance was try to just give the audience a real kinesthetic experience of what it's like.

From Salon

Related Words

• bodily
• physical