Select the most appropriate synonym of the given word: SENTIENT

Correct — D. Sentient means able to perceive or feel things. It comes from Latin sentire, 'to feel', the root of sense and sentiment.

Conscious means aware of and responding to one's surroundings. A sentient being can feel; a conscious one is aware. Both adjectives sit on the same side, the side of feeling and perceiving → option (d).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Lifeless — Lifeless means dead, or lacking energy. Something lifeless can feel nothing, so the word points away from sentient rather than towards it.
• (b)
  Dead — Dead means no longer alive, and so beyond all feeling. It stands at the opposite pole from sentient, not beside it.
• (c)
  Unaware — Unaware means having no knowledge of a situation or fact. It is the direct opposite of conscious, the keyed word, so it is an antonym of sentient too.

A synonym item is decided by the word's core sense. For sentient that sense is feeling and perception, the capacity to experience sensations.

Look at how the options divide. Lifeless, Dead and Unaware all describe the absence of feeling or awareness. Conscious stands alone on the other side.

When three options agree with one another and point away from the fourth, settle which side the given word is on before you choose.

Key facts

• Sentient means able to perceive or feel things.
• Its noun is sentience, the capacity to feel or perceive.
• Sentient comes from Latin sentire, 'to feel', which also gives sense and sentiment.
• Conscious means aware of and responding to one's surroundings.

Common traps

• Confusing sentient with sententious, which means given to pompous moralising

No directly related past PYQ was found.