Phrase guide

good sense

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɡʊd ˈsɛn(t)s/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˌɡʊd ˈsɛns/

1

noun

Meaning 1

Common sense; sensibleness.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mother wit, native wit

Antonyms: bad sense

2

noun

Meaning 2

sound practical judgment

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Common sense is not so common
  • he hasn't got the sense God gave little green apples
  • fortunately she had the good sense to run away

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: common sense, gumption, horse sense, sense, mother wit

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: sagacity, sagaciousness, judgment, judgement, discernment

Narrower terms: logic, nous, road sense

History

Etymology

Calque of Middle French bon sens, from Old French boin sens (modern French bon sens (“common sense, good sense”)).