collocations.org

Collocations for sense - noun

1. sight, hearing, etc.

ADJECTIVE

acute, developed, good, keen
Raccoons have a highly developed sense of touch.
poor
sixth
He has a sixth sense when it comes to fashion.

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VERB + sense

have
He has an acute sense of smell.
lose
She lost her sense of hearing early in life.
heighten, sharpen
dull
The drink must have dulled your senses.
appeal to
Art should appeal to the senses rather than the intellect.

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sense + VERB

tell sb
When she came to, her senses told her she was lying on a beach.
reel, swim
Her senses reeled as she fought for consciousness.

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sense + NOUN

organ

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PREPOSITION

through the senses
Although he can't see, he learns a lot through his other senses.

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PHRASES

the five senses
the sense of hearing, the sense of sight, the sense of smell, the sense of taste, the sense of touch
an assault on the senses
the evidence of your senses

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2. feeling/awareness of sth

ADJECTIVE

deep, great, keen, overwhelming, palpable, pervasive, powerful, profound, strong, tremendous
He felt a deep sense of relief after the phone call.
a palpable sense of danger
They feel a pervasive sense of loss and longing.
We felt a profound sense of alienation from Western culture.
genuine, real, true
basic, underlying
clear
He lacked a clear sense of direction.
growing, heightened
new-found (esp. AmE), renewed
Many felt a renewed sense of purpose in the nation's war effort.
general, overall
Aromatherapy is said to help foster a general sense of well-being.
shared
We have a shared sense of community.
inner
slight, vague
a vague sense of unease
nagging
Patti had a nagging sense of foreboding.

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VERB + sense

experience, feel, have, possess
I experienced a new sense of freedom.
gain, get
I got the sense that she wasn't very pleased to see us.
Readers gain a real sense of what life was like in the camp.
display, show
convey
The music conveyed a sense of loss.
bring, give sb, provide
The conviction may bring a sense of closure.
create, develop, foster
Clubs try to create a sense of community.
keep, maintain, retain
lose
lack
heighten, sharpen

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PREPOSITION

sense of
He seems to have lost his sense of reality.

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PHRASES

a false sense of security
The public has been lulled into a false sense of security.

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3. understanding/ability to judge

ADJECTIVE

good, great, wonderful
She had a great sense of style.
bad, poor
innate, intuitive, natural
a natural sense of justice
moral
business, dress, fashion
He has no dress sense.
I have absolutely no fashion sense.

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VERB + sense

have

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PREPOSITION

sense of
a good sense of direction
a poor sense of rhythm
a great sense of timing

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4. sensible or practical reason/judgement

ADJECTIVE

complete, perfect
It all makes perfect sense (= is easy to understand).
good
common, horse (esp. AmE)
Common sense tells me I should get more sleep.
business, economic, financial
Family-friendly policies make good business sense.
intuitive, logical
These results seem to make intuitive sense.

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VERB + sense

have
He at least had the sense to call the police.
display, show
lack
Meg is incredibly intelligent but she lacks common sense.
make
This paragraph doesn't make sense.
see
I tried to make him see sense, but he just wouldn't listen.
talk
If you can't talk sense, I'm leaving!

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PREPOSITION

sense in
There's a lot of sense in what he's saying.

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PHRASES

have more money than sense (esp. BrE)
make little sense
It makes little sense to discuss this now.
(not) an ounce of sense
If you had an ounce of sense, you'd never have agreed to help him.
knock some sense into sb, talk sense into sb (esp. AmE)
I'm going to try and knock some sense into him.
We'll try and talk a little sense into her.
there's no sense in sth
There's no sense in going home before the concert.

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5. (your senses) normal state of mind

VERB + SENSES

come to, regain
take leave of
Have you taken leave of your senses?
bring sb to

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6. meaning

ADJECTIVE

broad, loose, wide
The novel is about education in its widest sense.
certain
In a certain sense, justice was done.
limited, narrow, strict
full
This is a tragedy in the fullest sense of the word.
accepted, classic, conventional, traditional
I am not writing poetry in the traditional sense.
These teachings do not constitute a religion in the conventional sense.
general, ordinary, usual
I don't have any friends in the usual sense of the word.
Literacy, in a general sense, cannot be said to cause social development.
meaningful
He and I were no longer friends in any meaningful sense.
negative, positive
practical
figurative, metaphorical
literal
legal, technical
spiritual
pejorative

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VERB + sense

have
That word has three senses.

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PREPOSITION

in a sense
In a sense, she's right.

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PHRASES

in every sense of the word, in a very real sense
In a very real sense, post-war repression was the continuation of the war.
in the true sense of the word

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Collocations for sense - verb

ADVERB

immediately
I immediately sensed something was wrong.
clearly, strongly
He clearly sensed that some points could be scored.
I sensed very strongly that she was angry with me.
dimly, vaguely
almost
Sandra could almost sense the tension in the air.
just
Maybe she could just sense what I needed.
apparently
She apparently sensed defeat was inevitable.
intuitively

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Sense is used with these nouns as the object:
apprehension, atmosphere, confusion, danger, disappointment, disapproval, disbelief, discomfort, distress, disturbance, emotion, frustration, hesitation, hint, hostility, impatience, magic, mood, movement, nervousness, pain, presence, relief, reluctance, sadness, tension, unease, vibration

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