Dictionary

common sense en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (General-American) audio

Etymology

Calque of Middle French sens commun and its source, Latin sēnsus commūnis, itself a calque of Ancient Greek κοινὴ αἴσθησις (koinḕ aísthēsis).

Meanings

1. (uncountable) Ordinary sensible understanding; one's basic intelligence which allows for plain understanding and without which good decisions or judgments cannot be made.
   • While there are not yet studies to prove it, common sense tells us that a stressed and sick animal is not an ideal candidate to eventually make a healthy meal. 2018, Kristin Lawless, Formerly known as food, →ISBN, page 52:
   • Common sense, by contrast to self-attentiveness, involves other-attentiveness, as a person pays attention to the social world around them and to the structure of tacit meanings that others impart through the use of utterances and embodied conduct. […] Common sense as other-attentiveness means that a participant pays attention to another’s world as a condition for bespeaking one’s own. 2022, Douglas W. Maynard, Jason Turowetz, “Autistic Intelligence as Uncommon Sense”, in Autistic Intelligence – Interaction, Individuality, and the Challenges of Diagnosis, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, →DOI, →ISBN, page 81:
   • To act with common sense, according to the moment, is the best wisdom I know; and the best philosophy, to do one's duties, take the world as it comes, submit respectfully to one's lot, bless the goodness that has given us so much happiness with it, whatever it is, and despise affectation. 1776, Horace Walpole, Letter to Sir Horace Mann:
2. (uncountable) One of the four interior senses; the one by which information from the five exterior senses is understood and interpreted.
   • This common ſenſe is the Iudge or Moderator of the reſt, by whom we diſcerne all differences of obiects; for by mine eye I doe not knowe that I ſee, or by mine eare that I heare, but by my common ſenſe, […] 1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Of the Inward Senses”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy, […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 1, section 1, member 2, subsection 7, page 35:

Forms

Deriveds

common sense is neither common nor sensical · commonsensically · commonsensible · commonsensibly · Common Sense Revolution · commonsensical

Relateds

conventional wisdom · critical thinking · common knowledge

Synonyms

native wit (ordinary sensible understanding) · horse sense (ordinary sensible understanding) · good sense (ordinary sensible understanding) · cop on (ordinary sensible understanding) · mother wit (ordinary sensible understanding)

Translations (75)

tr aklıselim (ordinary understanding) · cmn 常理 (ordinary understanding) · sw akili (ordinary understanding) · cmn 常情 (ordinary understanding) · vi lẽ thường (ordinary understanding) · tr hissiselim (ordinary understanding) · cmn 常識 /常识 (ordinary understanding) · tr sağduyu (ordinary understanding) · fi perusjärki (ordinary understanding) · cs selský rozum (ordinary understanding) · mk здрав разум (ordinary understanding) · gl sentidiño (ordinary understanding) · ka კეთილგონიერება (ordinary understanding) · km សុភនិច្ឆ័យ (ordinary understanding) · nb sunn fornuft (ordinary understanding) · tl magmag (ordinary understanding) · is almenn skynsemi (ordinary understanding) · nn sunn fornuft (ordinary understanding) · gv keeall (ordinary understanding) · pl zdrowy rozsądek (ordinary understanding) · th สามัญสำนึก (ordinary understanding) · ar اَلْحِسّ السَّلِيم (ordinary understanding) · ota عقل (ordinary understanding) · bn আকল (ordinary understanding) · fi terve järki (ordinary understanding) · nl gezond verstand (ordinary understanding) · fr bon sens (ordinary understanding) · sh zdravi razum (ordinary understanding) · fr sens commun (ordinary understanding) · id akal sehat (ordinary understanding) · ms akal (ordinary understanding) · cs zdravý rozum (ordinary understanding) · pt bom senso (ordinary understanding) · pl rozsądek (ordinary understanding) · it senno (ordinary understanding) · ota ادراك (ordinary understanding) · he שכל הישר (ordinary understanding) · gl sentido común (ordinary understanding) · ru здра́вый смысл (ordinary understanding) · fi talonpoikaisjärki (ordinary understanding) · ms akal budi (ordinary understanding) · sh zdrava pamet (ordinary understanding) · tk sagdyn pikir (ordinary understanding) · ka საღი აზრი (ordinary understanding) · sl zdrava pamet (ordinary understanding) · ota هوش (ordinary understanding) · et terve mõistus (ordinary understanding) · ja 常識 (ordinary understanding) · ro bun-simț (ordinary understanding) · tl sentido komun (ordinary understanding) · he היגיון פשוט (ordinary understanding) · sv bondförstånd (ordinary understanding) · es sentido común (ordinary understanding) · sv sunt förnuft (ordinary understanding) · io komuna raciono (ordinary understanding) · uk здоро́вий глузд (ordinary understanding) · de Common Sense (ordinary understanding) · it buonsenso (ordinary understanding) · hu józan ész (ordinary understanding) · ru у́м-ра́зум (ordinary understanding) · yi שׂכל (ordinary understanding) · de gesunder Menschenverstand (ordinary understanding) · it senso comune (ordinary understanding) · fi järki (ordinary understanding) · fi arkijärki (ordinary understanding) · az sağlam düşüncə (ordinary understanding) · af gesonde verstand (ordinary understanding) · fi maalaisjärki (ordinary understanding) · ka ჯანსაღი აზრი (ordinary understanding) · pt senso comum (ordinary understanding) · da sund fornuft (ordinary understanding) · nl boerenverstand (ordinary understanding) · lv veselais saprāts (ordinary understanding) · ca seny (ordinary understanding) · el κοινή λογική (ordinary understanding)