Basic Details
Word: Sensation
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A feeling in your body, such as heat, cold or pain; also great excitement or interest caused by something, or the person or thing that causes it.
Synonyms: feeling, excitement, stir
Antonyms: numbness
How to Spell Sensation
Syllables: sen - sa - tion
Tricky part: It begins with sen, not cen, and ends in -tion. Students also swap the middle a for e, writing sensetion.
Watch out for: sensetion, censation, sensasion, sensaition
Memory tip: Start from sense, drop its final e and add -ation: sense, sensation. The s sound in the middle stays an s.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The new science teacher's experiments became a sensation in the school.
Example 2: When the dentist injected the medicine, I lost all sensation in my lip.
Example 3: Rain on a hot day gives a cool sensation on the skin.
Fun Fact
Some people have a condition called synaesthesia, in which one sense sets off another. They may, for example, see colours when they hear music.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The young spinner became an overnight snitsenoa after taking five wickets on debut.
a) sedation
b) station
c) sensation
d) sanitation
Show answer
c) sensation. Sensation needs two s's and two n's; sanitation, sedation and station each have only one s.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters to complete the word:
s_ns_tion
a) i, a
b) a, a
c) e, e
d) e, a
Show answer
d) e, a. The first vowel comes from sense, e, and the second from -ation, a.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word sensation as used in the sentence:
Lisa felt a tingling sensation in her fingers after holding the ice cube for a minute.
a) sound
b) colour
c) feeling
d) numbness
Show answer
c) feeling. A tingle is something you feel; numbness is the lack of any feeling.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. When a new film causes a sensation, people ____.
a) refuse to go and watch it
b) complain that it is far too long
c) talk about it with great excitement
d) forget about it almost at once
Show answer
c) talk about it with great excitement
2. Which of these is a sensation you feel in your body?
a) an itch
b) a promise
c) a holiday
d) a rumour
Show answer
a) an itch
