in a sense

prepositional phrase

In one sense or interpretation, but not in all ways.

Meanings

prepositional phrase

alternative in one sense

  1. In one sense or interpretation, but not in all ways.

    In a sense, Superman's romance with Lois Lane was a subplot and [...]

    2001, Dennis O'Neil, The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics
    3 more examples

    A large part of duty-doing is drudgery. There is drudgery in every department of life's workdrudgery that is indispensable to success in that work. […] But there is such a thing as ennobling drudgery, as making and counting it an essential part of that which is noble and–in a sense–divine.

    1889, H[enry] Clay Trumbull, “Making Drudgery Divine”, in Duty-knowing and Duty-doing, Philadelphia, Pa.: John D. Wattles, →OCLC, page 133

    In a sense, the editorial cartoons were correct when they suggested that an exaltation of larks can fly under the influence into an aspect of vulturous behavior.

    1989, Ronald K. Siegel, Intoxication: The Universal Drive for Mind-Altering Substances, Park Street Press, published 2009, →ISBN, page 192

    This is not a historical novel yet it is in a sense historical and contained within this book is a true story of how America was financed.

    2011, Thomas W. Dombroski, How America Was Financed, page xi

    Synonyms: after a fashion, in a way

Synonyms & antonyms

prepositional phraseIn one sense or interpretation, but not in all ways.

Translations

Esperanto iusence
  • iusencein one sense or interpretation
Polish w pewnym sensie, niejako
  • w pewnym sensiein one sense or interpretation
  • niejakoin one sense or interpretation
  • poniekądin one sense or interpretation
Spanish en cierto sentido
  • en cierto sentidoin one sense or interpretation
Cite this entry
APA

in a sense. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20a%20sense

MLA

“in a sense.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20a%20sense. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in a sense,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20a%20sense.

Source: in a sense on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.