sentient
adjective
ˈsen-tē-ənt
Barry LopezJohn NaughtonEdith WhartonW. A. WhiteColin L. Powell
Did you know?
You may have guessed that sentient has something to do with the senses. The initial spelling sent- or sens- is often a giveaway for such a meaning. A sentient being is one who perceives and responds to sensations of whatever kind—sight, hearing, touch, taste, or smell. Sentient ultimately comes from the Latin verb sentire, which means "to feel" or "to perceive," and is related to the noun sensus, meaning "sense." A few related English words are sentiment and sentimental, which have to do with emotions, sensual, which relates to more physical sensations, and the trio of assent, consent, and dissent, which involve one's expressions of agreement (or disagreement in the case of dissent) in thought and feeling with another.
Synonyms
Examples of sentient in a Sentence
Margaret Farrell, SPIN, 4 Apr. 2024
Reckoning left Cruise's character Ethan Hunt and series regulars Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg) at odds with villain Gabriel (Esai Morales) and forging new alliances with characters like Grace (Hayley Atwell) over a battle for control over a sentient artificial intelligence.
—Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 26 Mar. 2024
Animals including snakes are sentient beings with thoughts, feeling and individual personalities, but because reptiles are so different in appearance than humans, people don't always understand their capacity to suffer, Holtz told CBS MoneyWatch.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2024
Ares is expected to spend more time in the real world as a sentient computer program crosses over into the human world not ready for contact.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Feb. 2024
In other words, the last way any sentient being would ever fight higher prices is with fewer workers.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024
The trailer features a truly wild collection of bad guys, the most notable of which is a giant fire…thing, that appears to be a giant sentient brazier.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
But Diop makes a key distinction in her work from the outset by introducing a beguiling element of poetic fantasy, giving sentient consciousness and voices to the artifacts, starting with item #26, an imposing statue of King Ghezo.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Feb. 2024
With the help of Pablo Santiago’s dazzling lighting and Everett Elton Bradman’s crisp sound design, the interactive set becomes increasingly sentient, while splitting the difference between unnerving and amusing.
—Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sentient.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Latin sentient-, sentiens, present participle of sentire to perceive, feel
1604, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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Cite this Entry
“Sentient.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sentient. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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sentient
adjective
Medical Definition
sentient
adjective
ˈsent-ē-ənt
More from Merriam-Webster on sentient
Nglish: Translation of sentient for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of sentient for Arabic Speakers
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