Sensível

Sensível is a Portuguese adjective that covers a range of closely related meanings centered on perception, feeling, and responsiveness. It can describe a person who is easily emotionally affected, someone who is compassionate or impressionable, or a thing that reacts to external stimuli. It is also used for materials or systems that are delicate to touch or highly responsive, such as skin or sensors. In everyday use, sensível often translates to “sensitive” in English, as in sensitive skin or a sensitive issue. It is not typically used to mean “sensible” in the English sense of reasonable or prudent; that meaning is more commonly rendered by sensato or prudente in Portuguese.

Etymology and cognates: sensível derives from Latin sensibilis, from sensus, sense or feeling. It has cognates in other Romance languages, such as sensible in Spanish and sensible in French, all linked to perception and feeling. In English, the closest direct translation for most uses is sensitive.

Usage notes: Typical phrases include pele sensível (sensitive skin), sensível a estímulos/ruídos (sensitive to stimuli/noises), and uma questão sensível (a delicate or sensitive issue). The word can describe people, objects, or situations that require careful handling due to vulnerability, emotional charge, or fragility. Distinctions should be made with sensato, which conveys reasonableness or good sense, unlike sensível’s emphasis on perception and responsiveness.

Related terms: sensibilidade (sensitivity), sensorial (sensory), sensível ao toque (touch-sensitive), and sensibilidade emocional (emotional sensitivity).