EXPLANATORY NOTES. Sensibleadj. 1.Having or showing good sense, power of judging, practical wisdom; reasonable, judicious; practical

Sensible adj. 1. Having or showing good sense, power of judging, practical wisdom; reasonable, judicious; practical, e.g. a ~ idea, a ~ woman, ~ shoes for mountain climbing, that was ~ of you. 2. Aware (of), e.g. he is ~ of the danger of his position. 3. That can be perceived by senses (sight, hearing, etc.); perceptible, appreciable, e.g. a ~ difference, a ~ change in tone, a ~ increase.

Antonym: insensible adj.

Derivatives: sensibly adv., insensibly adv., sensibility п., insensibility n.

Sensitive adj. 1. Quick to receive impressions; responding or feeling readily and acutely; very keenly susceptible to stimuli, e.g. a ~ ear, ~ nerves. 2. Easily hurt in the spirit; having or showing keen sensibilities; easily offended, disturbed, shocked, irritated, etc. by the actions and opinions of others; e.g. a ~ child, to be ~ about (over) smth., too ~ to criticism, don’t be so ~! 3. (of instruments, etc.) Able to record small changes, e. g. a ~ thermometer, ~ scales. 4. (of photographic film, paper, etc.) Affected by light, e.g. photographic film is ~ to light. 5. Secret, security-restricted, e.g. ~ areas of national defence.

Sensitive implies a physical or emotional condition that predisposes one to certain impressions, certain reactions, or the like.

Antonym: insensitive adj.

Derivatives: sensitively adv., sensitiveness п., sensitivity п., supersensitive adj., hypersensitive adj.

Sensible (разумный, здравомыслящий; ощутимый, заметный; осознающий, чувствующий; чувствительный (о приборе) and sensitive (чувстви­тельный, нежный, впечатлительный; обидчивый; засекреченный) are never interchangeable but they are sometimes confused because of the identity of the root word and some proximity in meaning.

Their antonyms, insensible and insensitive re­spectively, are somewhat close in meaning too. Insensible usually implies total unresponsiveness, and therefore unawareness or unconsciousness, caused by any of a number of things, such as blunted powers of sensation, obtuseness of mind, apathy, or complete absorption in something else, e.g. ~ to fatigue, to pleasure, and to pain, so engrossed in his work that he was ~ of the flight of time, etc. Insensitive, on the other hand, implies sluggishness in response or less than normal susceptibility; more specifically, it suggests dullness of sensation or perception, thickness of skin, callousness and lack of sympathy or compassion, e.g. a ~ ear, ~ to changes of pitch, he was ~ to all kinds of discourtesy, ~ to the misery of others, ~ to light (to touch), ~ to beauty.