sensemaking

S1E1N1S1E1M3A1K5I1N1G2

noun

The process by which people give meaning to experience.

OriginEnglish making ← Middle English making ← Old English macung →
RareScrabble 18
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounsensemaking (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe process by which people give meaning to experience.

    Because they can in fact set the stage for ongoing sensemaking efforts, its best to avoid digging holes of mis-messaging that only get harder to overcome with time.

    2016, Elliot Bendoly, Sacha Clark, Visual Analytics for Management

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sent-
  2. Proto-Italic*sentiō
  3. Latinsentiō
  4. Latinsēnsu
  5. Proto-Germanic*sinnaz
  6. Frankish*sinn
  7. Vulgar Latin*sennus
  8. Old Frenchsens
  9. Middle Englishsense
  10. Englishsense
  11. Old Englishmacung
  12. Middle Englishmaking
  13. Englishmaking
  14. Englishsensemaking

From sense + making.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

German Sinngebung, Sinnstiftung
  • SinngebungThe process by which people give meaning to experience.
  • SinnstiftungThe process by which people give meaning to experience.
Cite this entry
APA

sensemaking. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sensemaking

MLA

“sensemaking.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sensemaking. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sensemaking,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sensemaking.

Source: sensemaking on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.