sentient
/ˈsɛn.ʃi.ənt/adjective, noun
sentient is spelled S-E-N-T-I-E-N-T: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, sentient means “Experiencing sensation, thought, or feeling” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sentient?
| Letters | 8: S-E-N-T-I-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,745th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sentient?
Sentient appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sentient?
- UK /ˈsɛn.ti.ənt/
- US /ˈsɛn.ʃi.ənt/
- US /ˈsɛn.ʃənt/
Sentient has 3 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sentient.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sentient
- more sentient comparative
- most sentient superlative
- sentients plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sentient mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Experiencing sensation, thought, or feeling.
Consider fish, who are apparently sentient yet cognitively extremely primitive in comparison with humans.
- 2
Able to consciously perceive through the use of sense faculties.
- 3
Possessing human-like awareness and intelligence.
noun
- 1
Lifeform with the capability to feel sensation, such as pain.
- 2
An intelligent, self-aware being.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sentient in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sensible, doué de sensation , conscient , sentient |
| German | fühlend |
| Portuguese | senciente |
| Spanish | sensible, con sentidos, sintiente, sentiente (DPD, Fundéu) , consciente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sentient come from?
From Latin sentiēns (“feeling, perceiving”), present active participle of sentiō.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).