noun · 3 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
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Canada, General-American:/ˌsɛn.ʃuˈæl.ɪ.ti/
Australian:/ˌsen.ʃʉːˈæl.ɪ.tiː/
New-Zealand:/ˌsen.ʃʉːˈɛl.ə.tiː/
Scotland:/ˌsɛn.ʃʉˈal.ɪ.ti/
rhymes with -ælɪti
CMU ARPABET:S EH2 N SH UW2 AE1 L AH0 T IY2
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The state of being sensual or sensuous.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Examples
pure sensuality
air of sensuality
erotic sensuality
The painting captures the sensuality of human form.
Her voice carried a quiet sensuality.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A preoccupation with sensual pleasure.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
desire for sensual pleasures
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: sensualness, sensualism
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: sexual desire, eros, concupiscence, physical attraction
History
Etymology
Derived from Middle French sensualité, derived from Late Latin sēnsuālitātem (“sensibility, capacity for sensation”). By surface analysis, sensual + -ity.
Across languages
Translations
23 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
сладострастие
(sladostrastie)
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Catalan:
sensualitat
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Czech:
smyslnost
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Dutch:
zinnelijkheid
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Finnish:
aistillisuus
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
French:
sensualité
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
German:
Sinnlichkeit
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Polish:
zmysłowość
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Portuguese:
sensualidade
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Romanian:
senzualitate
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Russian:
чувственность
(čuvstvennostʹ)
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Serbo-Croatian:
сензуа́лно̄ст
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Serbo-Croatian:
чу́лно̄ст
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Serbo-Croatian:
пу̏тено̄ст
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Serbo-Croatian:
senzuálnōst
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Serbo-Croatian:
čúlnōst
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Serbo-Croatian:
pȕtenōst
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Spanish:
sensualidad
— the state of being sensual or sensuous
Finnish:
hekumallisuus
— a preoccupation with sensual pleasure
German:
Sinnlichkeit
— a preoccupation with sensual pleasure
Polish:
cielesność
— a preoccupation with sensual pleasure
Polish:
zmysłowość
— a preoccupation with sensual pleasure
Russian:
сладостра́стие
(sladostrástije)
— a preoccupation with sensual pleasure
