sensibility

/ˌsɛn(t)sɪˈbɪlɪti/

//ˌsɛn(t)sɪˈbɪlɪti// noun

"sensibility" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sensibility” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,502. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,502
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
17
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Emotions or feelings arising from or relating to aesthetic or moral standards, especially those which are sensitive and thus likely to be hurt or offended.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sensibility · sensibility · English

sensibility · rank #22,502 · 17 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #22,502
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH seaman

Nearest frequency peer: seaman (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “sensibility”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “sensibility” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sensibility vs sensitivity
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sensibility
PropertyValue
Headwordsensibility
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌsɛn(t)sɪˈbɪlɪti/
Letters11
Frequency rank#22,502
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sensibility”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).sensibilitylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “seaman” (#22,501), “salah” (#22,498), “sizing” (#22,506). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sensibility” is #22,502. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around sensibility (IPA /ˌsɛn(t)sɪˈbɪlɪti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,502 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for sensibility, with forms such as "esnsibility", "senisbility", and "sennsibility". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "sensitivity", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Middle English sensibilite (“physical ability to sense or perceive; sensitivity to pain; type of perception by a sense organ; perception, understanding; image imprinted on the mind during perception; (philosophy) capacity of the soul to receive in… The correct English form is sensibility, spelled S-E-N-S-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Emotions or feelings arising from or relating to aesthetic or moral standards, especially those which are sensitive and thus likely to be hurt or offended.
  2. 2
    The ability to feel, perceive, or sense; responsiveness to sensory stimuli; sensitivity; also, the degree to which someone or something (especially a sensory organ or tissue) is able to respond to sensory stimuli.
  3. 3
    The quality of being easily affected by external forces or stimuli; also, of a measuring instrument: the quality of being able to detect small changes in the environment.
  4. 4
    Keen sensitivity to matters of creative expression or feeling; artistic or emotional awareness.
  5. 5
    Keen sensitivity to matters of creative expression or feeling; artistic or emotional awareness.
  6. 6
    Awareness; also, understanding.
  7. 7
    The capacity of something to be perceived by the senses; perceptibility.
  8. 8
    Of a plant or one of its parts: the ability to move in response to a stimulus.
  9. 9
    The ability to perceive or sense as opposed to the ability to understand; also, in the philosophy of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804): emotion or feeling as opposed to the will.
  10. 10
    An emotional sense or understanding of something.
  11. 11
    A sign or token of appreciation or gratitude.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how sensibility appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I apologize if I offended your sensibilities, but that’s the truth of the matter.
  2. There is no way more sure of rousing the sensibilities of a commercial people, than by touching their pockets.

Etymology

From Late Middle English sensibilite (“physical ability to sense or perceive; sensitivity to pain; type of perception by a sense organ; perception, understanding; image imprinted on the mind during perception; (philosophy) capacity of the soul to receive information from the senses, perceptibility; (in the plural) the senses”), from Middle French sensibilité and Old French sensibilité (“characteristic or state of being capable of sensation”) (modern French sensibilité), and from their etymon Late Latin sēnsibilitās (“intelligence; perception, sensation; sensitiveness; meaning or sense of words”), from Latin sēnsibilis (“detectable; perceptible, sensible”) (from sentiō (“to perceive with the senses, feel, sense; to be aware or sensible of; etc.”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sent- (“to perceive; to think”)) + -bilis (suffix forming adjectives denoting a capacity or worth of being acted upon)) + -tās (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting states of being). By surface analysis, sensible + -ity (suffix forming nouns). Sense 6 (“in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant: emotion or feeling as opposed to the will”) is a use of the word as a calque of German Sinnlichkeit (“receptivity and devotion to what is experienced by the senses; desire for or openness to eroticism, sensuality”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • esnsibility
  • senisbility
  • sennsibility
  • sensbiility
  • sensibbility
  • sensibiilty
  • sensibilitty
  • sensibilityy
  • sensibiliyt
  • sensibillity
  • sensibiltiy
  • sensibliity
  • sensiiblity
  • senssibility
  • sesnibility
  • snesibility
  • ssensibility

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sensibility - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

esnsibility2senisbility2sennsibility1sensbiility2sensibbility1sensibiilty2sensibilitty1sensibilityy1
Edit distance from "sensibility"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sensibility"?
"sensibility" is spelled S-E-N-S-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌsɛn(t)sɪˈbɪlɪti/.
What does "sensibility" mean?
As a noun, "sensibility" means: Emotions or feelings arising from or relating to aesthetic or moral standards, especially those which are sensitive and thus likely to be hurt or offended.
What words are commonly confused with "sensibility"?
"sensibility" is commonly confused with "sensitivity". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sensibility"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sensibility" is /ˌsɛn(t)sɪˈbɪlɪti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sensibility"?
From Late Middle English sensibilite (“physical ability to sense or perceive; sensitivity to pain; type of perception by a sense organ; perception, understanding; image imprinted on the mind during perception; (philosophy) capacity of the soul to ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sensibility", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list