common sense
Americannoun
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
- common-sense adjective
- commonsense adjective
- commonsensible adjective
- commonsensibly adverb
- commonsensical adjective
- commonsensically adverb
Etymology
Origin of common sense
1525–35; translation of Latin sēnsus commūnis, itself translation of Greek koinḕ aísthēsis
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Leah responded, “In the name of common sense, how did they happen to be there, nearly six feet beneath the cellar bottom?”
From Literature
“The common sense of mankind demands that law shall not stop with the punishment of petty crimes by little people. It must also reach men who possess themselves of great power.”
From Salon
The situation was painful and humiliating, but given the circumstances, the offensive nature of the incident could have been handled with common sense and empathy.
From Los Angeles Times
This approach also demonstrates that we can use common sense to achieve the same statistically robust conclusions without cutting corners on safety.
The Fed analysis aligns with other research into the distribution of tariff costs from Harvard economists and Germany’s Kiel Institute—and with common sense.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
