n. 1
Any of the manners by which living beings perceive the physical world: for humans sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste.
n. 2
Perception through the intellect; apprehension; awareness.
v. 1
To use biological senses: to either see, hear, smell, taste, or feel.
v. 2
To instinctively be aware.
She immediately sensed her disdain.

Related words

Word family: senseless sensely sensory sensation sensible sensitive sensor sensorium
Phrases: common sense good sense horse sense make sense sense datum sixth sense in a sense moral sense

Forms

Plural: senses → feelings, ideas, apprehensions, minds…
Past participle: sensed
e.g. sensed → smelt, scented, perceived, recognized…

Sense, Sensation or Perception?

A sense is an organ or faculty of sensation or of perception.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

3 letters: wit¹
4 letters: feel¹, idea³, mind¹, tact¹
5 letters: smell¹, scent¹, tenor²
6 letters: matter², reason², spirit², wisdom², brains¹, import²
7 letters: feeling², meaning², purport²
8 letters: judgment², perceive², prudence², gumption², sagacity, sapience
9 letters: recognize³, sentiment³, sensation³, judgement², recognise³, intellect³, signified³, soundness², sentience, sentiency
10 letters: perception³, conception³
11 letters: recognition⁴, sensibility⁵, discernment³, acceptation
12 letters: significance⁴, appreciation⁵, apprehension⁴, significancy
13 letters: understanding⁴, consciousness³, signification

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (idea³ = 3 syllables).