sentient

English

Etymology

From Latin sentiēns (“feeling, perceiving”), present active participle of sentiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛn.ti.ənt/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛn.ʃ(i.)ənt/

Adjective

sentient (comparative more sentient, superlative most sentient)

1. Experiencing sensation, thought, or feeling.

   Synonym: sensate

2. Able to consciously perceive through the use of sense faculties.

   Antonym: insensate

3. (chiefly science fiction) Possessing human-like awareness and intelligence.

   Synonyms: sapient; see also Thesaurus:self-aware

   • 2022 June 14, Toby Walsh, “Labelling Google’s LaMDA chatbot as sentient is fanciful. But it’s very human to be taken in by machines”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:

     Lemoine has been placed on “paid administrative leave” after publishing a transcript of conversations with LaMDA which he claims support his belief that the chatbot is sentient and comparable to a seven- or eight-year-old child. […] While Lemoine no doubt genuinely believes his claims, LaMDA is likely to be as sentient as a traffic light.

Translations

experiencing sensation, perceiving, thinking, or feeling

• Armenian: զգայուն (hy) (zgayun)
• Bulgarian: усещащ (bg) (useštašt)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 感受的

• Finnish: tunteva (fi)
• French: sensible (fr), doué de sensation
• Greek: αισθητήριος (el) m (aisthitírios)
• Italian: senziente (it) (literary)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 意識する (ja) (いしきする, ishiki suru), 感覚力のある (かんかくりょくのある, kankaku-ryoku no aru), 知覚する (ja) (ちかくする, chikaku suru), 敏感な (ja) (びんかんな, binkan na)
• Malay: berperasaan
• Portuguese: senciente (pt)
• Romanian: conștient (ro) m
• Spanish: sensible (es), con sentidos
• Tagalog: lantad

science fiction: possessing human-like awareness, knowledge and intelligence

• Armenian: բանական (hy) (banakan), բանականություն ունեցող (banakanutʻyun unecʻoġ)
• Finnish: älyllinen (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: sentient (fr) m
• Russian: разу́мный (ru) (razúmnyj)

conscious or aware

• Armenian: գիտակից (hy) (gitakicʻ)
• Bulgarian: съзнателен (bg) (sǎznatelen)
• Dutch: bewust (nl)
• Finnish: tietoinen (fi)
• French: conscient (fr) m
• Greek: ευαίσθητος (el) m (evaísthitos)
• Japanese: 感覚を持つ (いしきをもつ, ishiki o motsu), 意識する (ja) (いしきする, ishiki suru), 敏感な (ja) (びんかんな)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sansende

• Polish: przytomny (pl)
• Spanish: consciente (es)

See also

• conscient

Noun

sentient (plural sentients)

1. Lifeform with the capability to feel sensation, such as pain.
2. (chiefly science fiction) An intelligent, self-aware being.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:sentient

   • 1965, Philip José Farmer, The Maker of Universes:

     The merpeople and the sentients who lived on the beach often hitched rides on these creatures, steering them by pressure on exposed nerve centers.

Further reading

• Jesse Sheidlower, editor (2001–2024), “sentient adj.”, in Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction.
• Jesse Sheidlower, editor (2001–2024), “sentient n.”, in Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction.
• Jeff Prucher, editor (2007), “sentient”, in Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction, Oxford, Oxfordshire, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, pages 180–181.

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Latin

Verb

(deprecated template usage) sentient

1. third-person plural future active indicative of sentiō