sense [L, sentire, to feel] , 1. n., the faculty by which stimuli are perceived and conditions outside and within the body are distinguished and evaluated. The major senses are sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and pressure. Other senses include hunger; thirst; pain; temperature; proprioception; and spatial, temporal, and visceral sensations. 2. n., the ability to feel; a sensation. 3. n., the capacity to understand; normal mental ability. 4. v., to perceive through a sense organ. 5. adj., pertaining to the sense strand of a nucleic acid. Compare antisense.
