sentient

[ sen-shuhnt‐shee-uhnt‐tee-uhnt ]

adjective

1. having the power of perception by the senses; conscious.
2. characterized by sensation and consciousness.

noun

1. a person or thing that is sentient.
2. Archaic. the conscious mind.

sentient

/ ˈsɛntɪənt /

adjective

1. having the power of sense perception or sensation; conscious

noun

1. rare.
   a sentient person or thing

Derived Forms

• ˈsentiently, adverb

Other Words From

• sentient·ly adverb
• non·sentient adjective
• non·sentient·ly adverb
• un·sentient adjective
• un·sentient·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of sentient¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin sentient-, stem of sentiēns “feeling,” present participle of sentīre “to feel” sense ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of sentient¹

C17: from Latin sentiēns feeling, from sentīre to perceive

Example Sentences

But If these two individuals are now one, does that mean their minds literally melded — or that perhaps they were never even sentient in the first place?

From Salon

“The danger is of animals being thought of as things, units of production, more so than they are now, because we can modify them to make them more amenable to our uses and taking us away from this notion of animals as sentient beings.”

From BBC

Backstage at the Booth Theatre, Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone, who are starring in Jen Silverman’s comedy “The Roommate,” are as tense as any politically sentient human being right now.

From Los Angeles Times

The text of the law recognizes that octopuses are “highly intelligent, curious, problem-solving animals” that are conscious, sentient and experience “pain, stress, and fear, as well as pleasure, equanimity, and social bonds.”

From Los Angeles Times

The idea that AI might become sentient does not fill Anadol with terror.

From Los Angeles Times