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The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO ...

The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO ...

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illogical, irrational, incongruous, meaningless, absurd, wild,<br />

mad, crazy, demented, insane, asinine, nonsensical, imbecilic or<br />

imbecile, idiotic, moronic, simple-minded, fatuous, stupid,<br />

foolish, silly, dizzy, halfwitted, mindless, brainless, witless,<br />

empty-headed, thimble-witted, pea-brained, bird-brained,<br />

hare-brained, feather-headed, rattle-brained, addle-pated,<br />

muddle-headed, Colloq daft, US daffy, nutty, batty, Slang wacky,<br />

dippy: Many <strong>of</strong> the government's objections to the plan are just<br />

senseless posturing. He is promoting some senseless plan for<br />

double-decker motorways.<br />

sensibility<br />

n. 1 See sensitivity, 3, below. 2 Often, sensibilities.<br />

feelings, responsiveness, responsivity, emotions, sentiments:<br />

Personal events are more likely to affect our sensibilities than<br />

major disasters in which we are not involved.<br />

sensible adj. 1 reasonable, realistic, logical, common-sense,<br />

commonsensical, rational, reasoned, sound, practical, prudent,<br />

judicious, discreet, intelligent, sage, wise, sane;<br />

down-to-earth, matter-<strong>of</strong>-fact, well-thought-out: Do you really<br />

think it sensible to go out in this storm? <strong>An</strong>drew has a very<br />

sensible way <strong>of</strong> dealing with junk mail - he returns it to<br />

sender. 2 perceivable, perceptible, detectable, evident,<br />

discernible, recognizable, ascertainable, apprehensible,<br />

cognizable, manifest, palpable, physical, tangible, corporeal,<br />

substantive, material, visible, observable, seeable: Some<br />

maintain that in addition to the sensible world there is another<br />

world, an anti-world, that we do not normally encounter. 3<br />

sentient, feeling, sensitive, live, conscious, aware: Who among<br />

us ever regards microbes as sensible creatures? 4 Usually,<br />

sensible <strong>of</strong> or to. conscious (<strong>of</strong>), aware (<strong>of</strong>), acquainted<br />

(with), cognizant (<strong>of</strong>), sensitive (to), alive to, mindful (<strong>of</strong>),<br />

understanding (<strong>of</strong>), in touch (with), observant (<strong>of</strong>), awake (to),<br />

alert (to), Slang wise (to), hip or old-fashioned hep (to): <strong>The</strong><br />

people <strong>of</strong> the village are ever sensible to the needs <strong>of</strong> their<br />

neighbours. <strong>The</strong>re are some things to which we are not at all<br />

sensible. 5 appreciable, significant, considerable, substantial,<br />

substantive, noticeable: <strong>The</strong> theory is that an increased<br />

interest rate will have a sensible effect on the rate <strong>of</strong><br />

inflation.<br />

sensitive adj. 1 delicate, tender, sore, susceptible: My arm is still

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