# sensation

/sɛnˈseɪʃən/ (US) · /sɛnsˈeɪʃən/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/sensation
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. physical feeling

noun · CEFR B2

a feeling in your body that comes from your senses, like heat, cold, or pain.

For teachers: a physical feeling or perception resulting from external stimuli or internal bodily states.

- When she stepped outside, she felt a strange tingling sensation in her fingers from the cold.
- Patients often report a burning sensation in the chest area, which can be easily confused with other more serious cardiac symptoms.

Usage: Often used with adjectives like 'burning', 'tingling', or 'strange'.

### 2. public excitement

noun · CEFR B2

a person, event, or story that causes a lot of excitement and interest in the public.

For teachers: a state of widespread public interest and excitement, or the person or thing that provokes it.

- The young singer became an overnight sensation after her video went viral.
- The novel caused a minor sensation when it was first published, primarily due to its controversial portrayal of the local government.

Usage: Commonly used in the phrase 'overnight sensation'.

### 3. sensory process

noun · CEFR C1 · Academic · Technical

the way your body's sense organs, like your eyes or skin, react to things around you.

For teachers: the operation or function of the senses; the process of receiving stimuli through sensory organs.

- The experiment studied how the brain processes the sensation of light.
- In psychological terms, sensation refers to the raw data received by the sensory receptors before the brain interprets it as perception.

Usage: In academic contexts, it is often contrasted with 'perception'.

## Examples

- I felt a burning sensation in my throat.
- The new pop star became an overnight sensation after her video went viral on social media.
- The patient reported a tingling sensation in his fingertips, which the neurologist identified as a common symptom of nerve compression in the wrist.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.