sensical
Syllables: sens·i·calUK/ˈsɛnsɪkl̩/US/ˈsɛnsɪk(ə)l/
sensical adjective: that makes sense; showing internal logic; rational, sensible.
Adjective
sensical (comparative more sensical, superlative most sensical)
- That makes sense; showing internal logic; rational, sensible.
- But that, which had more magic for me on this occaſion, was, I confeſs, the very points, which your very ſober, ſenſical people, who are vain of their rationality, would be the leaſt ſatisfied with—the romantic means ſhe uſed to bring this journey of her heart to bear.1795, [Samuel Jackson] Pratt, “Letter VIII. To the Same [the Honourable Mrs. B.].”, in Gleanings through Wales, Holland and Westphalia, with Views of Peace and War at Home and Abroad. […], volume I...
- Neville (filling Rolinda's glass). Just a drop. / Rolinda. For your sake. [Takes a sip. / Neville. Behold the triumph of a physician over his rival! (Drinks a glass of wine.) Brute force succumbs to science! / Rolinda. Don't be nonsensical. / Neville. I'm very sensical. Just a drop! (Empties...1895, B. C. Lease [pseudonym; Benjamin Lease Crozer Griffith], A Bachelor’s Divorce. A Comedy in Three Acts, Boston, Mass.: W[alter] H. Baker, →OCLC; republished in Benjamin L[ease] C[rozer]...
- Antonyms:
- illogical, irrational, nonsensical, senseless
- Having meaning, making sense semantically
- Antonyms:
- nonsensical
Examples of sensical in a sentence
- A nonsensical sentence, then, is one which is inconsistent with S, while a sensical sentence is one which is consistent with S.1986, Fred D’Agostino, Chomsky’s System of Ideas, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN, page 189:
- It contains no inherent commentary on its stipulations, and no intrinsic propositions concerning whether its effects are sensical or not.1998, William Storm, “Tragedy, Tragic, Vision”, in After Dionysus: A Theory of the Tragic, Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, →ISBN...
- There I waited, exiled from the realm of sensical thoughts, for Lou's sons to find me.2001 June, Alexandra Styron, All the Finest Girls: A Novel, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company; 1st paperback edition, Boston, Mass....
- So it starts with the sensical, and through shifts in syntax and cadence, goes completely abstract.2004, John C. Welchman, quoting Mike Kelley, “Introduction”, in Mike Kelley, edited by John C. Welchman, Minor Histories: Statements...
Antonyms of sensical
Forms of sensical
| comparative | more sensical |
|---|---|
| superlative | most sensical |
Origin of sensical
From sense + -ical; later uses are probably a back-formation from nonsensical.
Words formed from sensical
Questions about sensical
- What does sensical mean?
- Sensical means that makes sense; showing internal logic; rational, sensible.
- How do you use sensical in a sentence?
- A nonsensical sentence, then, is one which is inconsistent with S, while a sensical sentence is one which is consistent with S.
- What part of speech is sensical?
- Sensical is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce sensical?
- Sensical is pronounced /ˈsɛnsɪkl̩/ (UK).
Words near sensical in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: sensical (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-sensical.ogg.
Cite this entry: “sensical.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sensical. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.