sentient

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 13, 2024 is: sentient \SEN-shee-unt\ adjective Sentient is a formal term that typically describes beings conscious of or responsive to the sensations of seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, or smelling. // An avid gardener, Dorothy has recently been absorbed in books that examine the question of whether, and to what degree, plants are sentient. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sentient) Examples: "In other scenes in which Vesta isn’t messy and cruel, it looks uncanny, as so much of it feels constructed by sentient life even though the planet is untouched by humans. As the show moves from parched flatlands to savannas and tropical forests, there are intrusions on familiar scenery, like crystalline rivers or smooth stone structures, some of which pulse and breathe like a living thing." — Kambole Campbell, Vulture, 31 May 2024 Did you know? You may have guessed that sentient has something to do with the senses. The initial spelling sent- or sens- is often a giveaway for such a meaning. A sentient being is one who perceives or responds to sensations of whatever kind—sight, hearing, touch, taste, or smell. Sentient ultimately comes from the Latin verb sentire, which means "to feel" or "to perceive." (The Latin noun sensus means "sense.") A few related English words that descend from the same Latin root are [sentiment](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sentiment) and [sentimental](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sentimental), which have to do with emotions, [sensual](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sensual), which relates to more physical [sensations](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sensation), and the trio of [assent](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assent), [consent](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consent), and [dissent](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dissent), which involve expressions of agreement (or disagreement in the case of dissent) in thought and feeling with another.