sensuous

[ sen-shoo-uhs ]

adjective

1. gratifying the senses:

   You can wear your denim jacket, but the sensuous look and feel of a velvet blazer will elevate your outfit.

2. readily affected through the senses; sensual; physical:

   a sensuous temperament;

   a sensuous young man.

   Synonyms: sensitive, feeling, voluptuous, luxurious, luscious, palatable, pleasurable, pleasing, pleasant, gratifying

3. of or relating to the senses or objects that can be perceived by the senses; sensory; material:

   His observations based on sensuous experience seem self-evident, but the subsequent speculations are far-fetched.

   Aristotelian scholarly tradition subjected the sensuous qualities of music to mathematical and metaphysical analysis.

sensuous

/ ˈsɛnsjʊəs /

adjective

1. aesthetically pleasing to the senses
2. appreciative of or moved by qualities perceived by the senses
3. of, relating to, or derived from the senses

Derived Forms

• ˈsensuousness, noun
• ˈsensuously, adverb

Other Words From

• sen·su·ous·ly adverb
• sen·su·ous·ness sen·su·os·i·ty [sen-shoo-, os, -i-tee], noun
• an·ti·sen·su·ous adjective
• an·ti·sen·su·ous·ness noun
• hy·per·sen·su·ous adjective
• hy·per·sen·su·ous·ness noun
• non·sen·su·ous adjective
• non·sen·su·ous·ness noun
• sub·sen·su·ous adjective
• sub·sen·su·ous·ness noun
• su·per·sen·su·ous adjective
• su·per·sen·su·ous·ness noun
• un·sen·su·ous adjective
• un·sen·su·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sensuous¹

First recorded in 1630–40; from Latin sēnsus “sensation, feeling, any of the five senses, awareness”; sense, -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of sensuous¹

C17: apparently coined by Milton to avoid the unwanted overtones of sensual ; not in common use until C19: from Latin sēnsus sense + -ous

Synonym Study

See sensual.

Example Sentences

Jessica van Brakle and Zac Willis employ expanding foam and custom auto paint to fabricate a sensuous blob of a sculpture from which leaf-life paper prints sprout.

From Washington Post

The two objects and the stormy sky behind them all merge into a sensuous dance of shadow and light.

From Washington Post

The track is smooth and sensuous, particularly seductive when his voice soars into falsetto.

From Time

The dogs have been fried in soybean oil until their exterior skin begins to develop a sensuous crunch.

From The Daily Beast

Pulling bite-size pieces off each slice is an easy task; and the sensuous feel of warm beef juices only adds to the joy of a meal.

From The Daily Beast

But that fun, sensuous persona concealed a history of tragedy.

From The Daily Beast

Cromwell actually did declare a War on Christmas, which he deemed to be sensuous paganism.

From The Daily Beast

Virginia Woolf came next, with her dazzling, sensuous essays and literary criticism.

From The Daily Beast

And the most vivid First Impressions always result from the action of the intellect upon the sensuous stimuli from ear and eye.

From Project Gutenberg

He was a very tall loosely built man, with a sensuous laughing mouth and an eye that was seldom sober.

From Project Gutenberg

The Church required no sensuous image of Him, whom having not seen she loved, to prevent that love from growing cold.

From Project Gutenberg

Her face was pale and her sensuous lips were the color of her skin, whence her surname.

From Project Gutenberg

Was it not the sensuous side of her nature that had been touched, while the rest had been posing in the foreground?

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• lush
• sensual
• voluptuous