Meanings
plural kinesthesias · alternative kinaesthesia · alternative kinæsthesia
- countableuncountableSensation or perception of motion.
For quotations using this term, see Citations:kinesthesia.
- countableuncountablemedicineThe perception of the movement of one's own body, its limbs and muscles etc.
- countableuncountableperforming artsA spectator's perception of the motion of a performer, or, the effect of the motion of a scene on the spectator.
- countableuncountableProprioception or static position sense; the perception of the position and posture of the body; also, more broadly, including the motion of the body as well. See usage notes below.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe perception of body position and movement and muscular tensions etc
nounthe ability to feel movements of the limbs and body
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From kine- + -esthesia. Compare kinesthesis and Greek κιναισθησία (kinaisthisía). Notes If this word were borrowed on fully traditional principles it would be cinesthesia (or cinaesthesia); compare cinema from the same root. But more often this Greek root is spelled and pronounced with a k, and in the case of kinesthesia this avoids inconvenient homophony with synaesthesia, the sensation of one type of perception as another (e.g. the perception of smells as colors). Nevertheless the words are still occasionally confused; e.g. http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0849303710&id=_u4sZjHHwCYC&pg=PA581&lpg=PA581&dq=cinesthesia&sig=gFEo5BGoW75XcUVTk44aHGKgGuc.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 肌肉運動知覺 /肌肉运动知觉, 運動覺 /运动觉
- 肌肉運動知覺 /肌肉运动知觉 (jīròu yùndòng zhījué)sensation or perception of motion
- 運動覺 /运动觉 (yùndòngjué)sensation or perception of motion
- 動覺 /动觉 (dòngjué)sensation or perception of motion
Dutch kinesthesie
- kinesthesiesensation or perception of motion
Finnish asentoaisti
- asentoaistisensation or perception of motion
French kinesthésie
- kinesthésiesensation or perception of motion
German Kinästhesie
- Kinästhesiesensation or perception of motion
Greek κιναισθησία
- κιναισθησία (kinaisthisía)sensation or perception of motion
Japanese 運動感覚
- 運動感覚 (undō kankaku)sensation or perception of motion
Latin cinaesthesia
- cinaesthesiasensation or perception of motion
Polish kinestezja
- kinestezjasensation or perception of motion
Portuguese cinestesia
- cinestesiasensation or perception of motion
Russian кинестези́я
- кинестези́я (kinɛstɛzíja)sensation or perception of motion
Spanish cinestesia, kinestesia
- cinestesiasensation or perception of motion
- kinestesiasensation or perception of motion
Cite this entry
kinesthesia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kinesthesia
“kinesthesia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kinesthesia. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kinesthesia,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kinesthesia.
Source: kinesthesia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.