sensation

plural sensations

1. countableuncountableA physical feeling or perception from something that comes into contact with the body; something sensed.

   Captain Edward Carlisle, soldier as he was, martinet as he was, felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, her alluring smile; he could not tell what this prisoner might do.

   1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC

   2 more examples

   Confining ourselves, for the moment, to sensations, we find that there are different degrees of publicity attaching to different sorts of sensations. If you feel a toothache when the other people in the room do not, you are in no way surprised; but if you hear a clap of thunder when they do not, you begin to be alarmed as to your mental condition.

   1921, Bertrand Russell, The Analysis of Mind

   Water and electricity might not mix, but water and battery-powered fun sure do. Whether you are using a vibe alone or with a partner, in the tub or in the shower, the sensation of intense vibration feels especially nice underwater. Although waterproof vibrators can resemble anything from a lipstick to a kitty cat, most have one of four basic designs.

   2008, Tamar Love, “Turning On in the Tub”, in The Sensual Bath: Soaking in Pleasure and Passion (Sex/Relationships), Sterling/Ravenous, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 86, column 1

2. countableuncountablehuman sciencesExcitation of sensory organs.

   Coordinate term: perception

   1 more example

   In the dead state all is apparently without motion. No agent within indicates design, intelligence, or foresight: there is no respiration; […] no sensation; […]

   1822, John Barclay, chapter I, in An Inquiry Into the Opinions, Ancient and Modern, Concerning Life and Organization, Edinburgh; London: Bell & Bradfute; Waugh & Innes; G. & W. B. Whittaker, section I, page 2

3. countableuncountableA widespread reaction of interest or excitement.

   Young Derby's odd genius developed remarkably, and in his eighteenth year his collected nightmare-lyrics made a real sensation when issued under the title Azathoth and Other Horrors.

   1937, H. P. Lovecraft, The Thing on the Doorstep

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   “Two or three months more went by; the public were eagerly awaiting the arrival of this semi-exotic claimant to an English peerage, and sensations, surpassing those of the Tichbourne case, were looked forward to with palpitating interest. […]”

   1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Tremarn Case”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020

4. countabledatedfigurativelyuncommonuncountableA remarkable person.

   You truly are a sensation.

   Synonyms: event

5. archaiccountableslanguncountableA small serving of gin or sherry.

   A Sensation . . . . Half-a-glass of sherry.

   1852, George Butler Earp, Gold Seeker's Manual, page 52

   1 more example

   When men go into a 'sluicery' for a 'sensation,' a 'drain,' or a 'common sewer,' they call the glass of gin they seek, in allusion to the juniper, a 'nipper,' or, more briefly, a 'nip,' occasionally a 'bite,' and not unfrequently it turns out a 'flogger.'

   1869, Meliora, volume 12, page 47