What is a sensory word

Sensory language spices up your writing and allows readers to experience your words as if they’re living your story. You can use sensory words in any type of writing, including business writing.

How to use sensory details

walking in a forest is a sensory experienceAarggh …

A thumping headache.

Does it ever happen to you?

You should work, but you can’t. You don’t want to deal with your to-do list, an overflowing inbox, an incessant stream of tweets.

You find your walking boots and get out.

The smell of rain lingers in the air. A gentle breeze soothes your aching head. You watch the sun rays play with the golden leaves.

Can you picture the scene?

That’s because of the sensory details

You might think that sensory words are for poets and novelists. For creative spirits. Not for serious business people like you and me.

But that’s not true.

Using sensory language can help you captivate your audience—a business audience, too. Sensory language helps readers experience your words, almost as if they’re present, right in the middle of your story. What’s more, sensory details add personality and flavor to boring content, helping you stand out in a sea of grey voices that all sound the same.

Shall I explain?

The science behind sensory words

eating a sandwich is a sensory experienceSensory words are more powerful and memorable than ordinary words because they make your reader see, hear, smell, taste, or feel your words.

When reading non-sensory words, your brain processes text. But when you read sensory words different areas of your brain light up. Your brain processes sensory words as if you taste a sweet cake, as if you see a dazzling display of colors, as if you feel a rough texture.

And we also know from research that when we can hold a product the desire for the product increases. Might we be able to increase desire simply by using sensory words so people can imagine holding our products?

Sensory words can even boost sales. Research into menus suggests that describing dishes using sensory words makes more people buy them.

So, sensory words are truly magic.

What are sensory words?

Sensory words are descriptive—they describe how we experience the world: how we smell, see, hear, feel or taste something.

  • Words related to sight indicate colors, shape, or appearance. For instance: gloomy, dazzling, bright, foggy, gigantic.
  • Words related to touch describe textures. You can use them to describe feelings and abstract concepts, too: gritty, creepy, slimy, fluff, sticky.
  • Words related to hearing describe sounds. For instance: crashing, thumping, piercing, tingling, squeaky. Often these words mimic sounds—that’s when they’re called onomatopoeic.
  • Taste and smell are closely related. Most taste and smell words are easy substitutes for bland words like good, nice, or bad. For instance: zesty, tantalizing, sweet, stinky, stale.
  • Motion is sensory, too. By using active words or describing movement, you help your readers experience your words. For instance: vibrating, soaring, mind-boggling, staggering, bumpy.

You can create a multi-sensory experience in your writing. Here’s an example from Benjamin Myers’ book The Offing:

Sitting here now by the open window, a glissando of birdsong on the very lightest of breezes that carries with it the scent of a final incoming summer, I cling to poetry as I cling to life.

Within one sentence Myers shares a visual detail (the open window), an auditory detail (a glissando of birdsong), a sense of motion and touch (the lightest breeze), and a sense of smell (the scent of the incoming summer).

But sensory words are not just for novels …

Example sentences: How to appeal to the senses in business writing

you can use sensory details even in business writingIn business writing, we don’t need to write sentences as poetic as Myers’ sentence above.

We can add a touch of poetry by using one or two sensory words—to make our writing more vivid and to shape a stronger writing voice.

You can find opportunities to use sensory words almost everywhere—in headlines and email subject lines, on your About page, in product descriptions, business emails, or e-newsletters.

For instance:

A headline without sensory words:

5 Tips for Turning Boring Information Into a Practical Tutorial

With sensory words:

5 Tips for Turning Drab Information Into a Tantalizing Tutorial

A business email without sensory words:

Unfortunately, I’m currently too busy to take on new projects.

With sensory words:

Unfortunately, my schedule is jam-packed; and I’m unable to squeeze in new projects.

A product description without sensory words:

These long-lasting cabinets are made from the best material, guaranteed for 10 years.

With sensory words:

These cabinets remain squeak-and-creak free. That’s guaranteed for 10 years.

A bio without sensory words:

Irreverent copywriter on a mission to eradicate gobbledygook and to make boring business blogs interesting.

With sensory words:

Irreverent copywriter on a mission to stamp out gobbledygook and to add sparkle to business blogs.

A sentence without sensory words from a blog opening:

Imagine your writing is slowing readers down.

With sensory words:

Imagine your readers trudging. Their shoes feel heavy. Squelch. Sploosh. Squelch. Sploosh.

Sensory details inject a dose of personality into your writing. They make your writing stand out, and help readers picture the scenes you’re describing.

Sensory words for emotions

Emotions can often be expressed with sensory words.

For instance, you can use the word prickly (tactile) to describe feeling irritated. And when you’re calm, you’re cool-headed (also tactile). When you’re energetic, you’re buzzing (auditory) or bouncing (motion). You can feel bitter (taste). You can be bright or gloomy (visual).

To find a sensory word for an emotion, think about the sensation that that emotion causes in your body. When you’re nervous you become jittery or jumpy. When you’re angry, your body temperature rises, so you feel fiery or hot-headed.

Amplify your words with sound symbolism

slicing fresh bread is a sensory experienceThere’s a little-known category of words that can make your writing even more expressive.

You may have heard of onomatopoeic words?

Onomatopoeic words express a sound such as to squeal, whoosh, or boom!

But there’s a different, more subtle category of words. Words with sound symbolism are associated with a specific sensory experience. For his master’s thesis, James Harbreck studied such words and found that their usage has been increasing over the last two centuries.

Harbreck mentions examples like:

  • Words starting with gl– are associated with light, such as glint or glimmer
  • Words ending with –irl or –url often relate to circular or spiral motion or shape such as curl, swirl, whirl, or twirl
  • Words ending with –ump tend to be associated with roundness or heaviness, such as lump, clump, hump, or rump

According to Harbreck, words with sound symbolism (more here) are used more regularly in fiction than non-fiction.

But we can change that.

We can use such words to make our writing glitter and glow more brightly.

The truth about captivating your audience

You can use the same words every business writer uses.

It’s a quick way to write a lot of text. But you sound the same as everyone else, and the noisy internet machine drowns out your words. Your message gets lost.

So, try to release your inner poet and pick your words with care and precision.

Make your readers crave your next article.

Get them to fall in love with your writing, and get them to fall in love with your voice.

A list of 75 sensory phrases

visual words can paint rainbowsSensory language #1: Visual words

Sensory words for sight allow you to paint vibrant (or gloomy) pictures.

What are you seeing? What’s the size? What’s the light like? What are the colors?

Examples of visual words:

Gigantic
Teeny-tiny
Bulky
Glitter
Sparkling
Shimmering
Shiny
Glowing
Crooked
Hazy
Shadowy
Gloomy
Drab
Murky
Dull
Knotty
Vibrant

tactile words allow readers to feel the kiss of a dogSensory language #2: Tactile words

Sensory words for touch allow readers to sense the silky-smoothness of your words.

How does something feel when you touch it? What’s the texture? The temperature? How does the humidity or pressure of the air feel?

Examples of tactile words:

Fluffy
Gritty
Rough
Smooth
Slimy
Sticky
Creepy
Crisp
Hairy
Chilled
To stifle
Woolly
Crisp

auditory words allow you to describe silence or musicSensory language #3: Auditory words

Sensory words for hearing allow readers to hear what’s happening.

How does someone’s voice sound? What kind of sounds are made? Is it loud or soft?

Examples of auditory words:

Buzz
Hubbub
Humming
Faint
Deafening
Squeaky
Earsplitting
Serene
To sizzle
To hiss
To shriek
Snappy
Boom!
Roaring
Thundering
Crunchy

Words related to smell and taste allow readers to almost taste the food you're cooking or eating in a storySensory language #4: Words related to taste and smell

Sensory words for taste and smell help you turn a bland text into lip-smackingly tasty writing.

What kind of aroma is there? Is it natural or artificial? Strong or subtle? Pleasant or repulsive? And does something taste sweet, sour, savory, salty, or bitter?

Examples of words related to taste and smell:

Bland
Rotten
Fragrant
Stale
Juicy
Stinky
Gooey
Bitter
Yummy
Lip-smackingly
Pungent
Zesty
Sweet
Spice

Sensory language allows readers to sense the motion of hopping, skipping, and dancingSensory language #5: Motion words

When you use strong verbs to describe motion, readers experience the motion as if they’re there, too.

Is the car swerving? Is the flight turbulent? Is the sea choppy?

Examples of motion words:

Soaring
To resonate
To breeze through
Staggering
Blown away
Paralyzed
Eye-popping
Gobsmacked
Shocking
To grab
Jaw-droppingly good
Turbulent
Choppy
Swirling
To wriggle

6 books that showcase sensory writing

The books listed below showcase sensory writing.

When you see how others use sensory details in their writing, it becomes easier to appeal to the senses in your own writing, too.

To accelerate the learning process, pay attention to imagery in the text. How do the authors help you imagine the scenes they describe? Which smells, feelings, tastes, sounds, motions, and sights do they refer to? Which words do they use to describe those sensory experiences? Which words do you like best? Add your favorite sensory words to a list and see whether you can include them in your own writing.

You can learn from any type of writing. If you’re writing about business, you can learn from fiction or science writing, too.

The links below are affiliate links. If possible, please support your local bookstore.

1. A sensory novel

Elif Shafak excels at sketching multi-sensory images to transport her readers to a different world. Here’s an example:

The brothel where Leila worked was among the oldest in the area. A single fluorescent tube flickered at the entrance with the force of a thousand tiny matches catching light and burning one after another. The air was thickened by the scent of cheap perfume, the taps encrusted with deposits of limescale and the ceiling coated with the sticky brown stains of nicotine and tar from years of tobacco smoke.

From: 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak

2. A sensory business book

Chip and Dan Heath are my favorite business writers. In their book The Power of Moments, they show how to weave miniature stories into your writing—even a business book.

The Power of Moments explains why certain customer service experiences have extraordinary impact. Here’s an example of their writing:

Let’s start with the cherry-red phone mounted to a wall near the pool. You pick it up and someone answers, “Hello, Popsicle Hotline.” You place an order, and minutes later, a staffer wearing white gloves deliver your cherry, orange, or grape Popsicles to you at poolside. On a silver tray. For free.

From: The Power of Moments by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

3. A science book that appeals to the senses

In his book The Eloquence of the Sardine, Bill François uses vivid imagery to show us what it’s like to be a fish. Here’s a snippet:

Some fish emit sounds through their swim bladders, pouches of gas located in their abdomens that keep them neutrally buoyant. They use these swim bladders as a drum, like children who tap out rhythms on their bellies after eating, an unaccountable music we’ve all made at one time or another. Patting their bellies like this, with the help of special stomach muscles, drum fish croak, groupers grunt and gurnards rumble. Their sounds are reminiscent of foghorns, drum solos or TV game-show buzzers.

From: The Eloquence of the Sardine: The Secret Life of Fish & Other Underwater Mysteries by Bill François, translated by Antony Shugaar

4. A nature book full of sensory language

Braiding Sweetgrass by botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer mixes Native American wisdom with western science, plus lots of sensory descriptions of nature. Here’s a sample:

You could smell ripe strawberries before you saw them, the fragrance mingling with the smell of sun on damp ground. It was the smell of June, the last day of school, when we were set free, and the Strawberry Moon, ode’mini-giizis. I’d lie on my stomach in my favorite patches, watching the berries grow sweeter and bigger under the leaves. Each tiny wild berry was scarcely bigger than a raindrop, dimpled with seeds under the cap of leaves. From that vantage point I could pick only the reddest of the red, leaving the pink ones for tomorrow.

From: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

5. A food memoir

As Nina Mingya Powles shows in her book Tiny Moons: A Year of Eating in Shanghai, food writing isn’t just about describing taste and smell.

Here’s a tiny taster:

I eat my guotie right there, standing beneath the fluorescent lights. First the crunch, then hot soup scalds my tongue – I wasn’t expecting so much soup – then gingery, garlicky pork in the middle.

From: Tiny Moons: A Year of Eating in Shanghai by Nina Mingya Powles

6. A guidebook to smell

In her book Revelations in Air, Jude Stewart describes a variety of aromas, the stories behind them and the memories that smells can evoke.

For instance, here’s how Stewart describes the smell of oranges:

They smell sparkling, clean, literally zesty. Oranges invigorate the nose with a bright acidic tang, over which plays a light, balanced sweetness. It’s affable and domestic, a lunchtime smell.

From: Revelations in Air by Jude Stewart

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Contents

  • 1 What are sensory words examples?
  • 2 What are the 5 sensory words?
  • 3 What are sensory words in writing?
  • 4 What are sensory words for smell?
  • 5 How do you write a sensory description?
  • 6 How are sensory words used in writing?
  • 7 How do blood smell like?
  • 8 How do you teach sensory writing?
  • 9 How do you write sensory language?
  • 10 What is sensory images and examples?
  • 11 Is cozy a sensory word?
  • 12 What does sensory language mean?
  • 13 What are some examples of the five senses?
  • 14 How are five senses used in an essay?
  • 15 What is an example of a sensory experience?
  • 16 What does sensory mean in child development?
  • 17 How do you write five senses examples?
  • 18 How do you write sense?
  • 19 What are the 5 senses in English?
  • 20 How do you describe your sense of touch?
  • 21 What activity uses all 5 senses?
  • 22 What are the 33 senses?

What are sensory words examples?

Sensory words are descriptive—they describe how we experience the world: how we smell, see, hear, feel or taste something. Words related to sight indicate colors, shape, or appearance. For instance: gloomy, dazzling, bright, foggy, gigantic. Words related to touch describe textures.

Sensory details appeal to the five senses: sight, sound, smell , touch, taste. When writing a personal narrative, your objective is to get the reader to feel like they are there with you.

What are sensory words in writing?

Sensory words use all five senses. They include sight, touch, smell, hearing, and feeling. Using sensory words increases your ability to write in details. … The device uses details to keep your readers interest and engaged in writing.

What are sensory words for smell?

What are sensory words for smell?

  • anosmic – odourless, no smell at all.
  • antiseptic – clean or pure smell that is bland an characterless.
  • aroma – a smell that is strong but pleasant.
  • comforting – pleasant aroma.
  • delicate – subtle, faint, smell that is not overpowering.

How do you write a sensory description?

Let’s write a description with sensory details using “Porkistan” by Syed Ali Haider as a model:

  1. Identify the thing to describe. Keep it simple. …
  2. State what the thing does. Sometimes it’s not necessary to compare the smell or taste to something else. …
  3. Describe the thing with a few senses. …
  4. Connect the senses to story.

How are sensory words used in writing?

Sensory details are words that stir any of the five senses: touch, taste, sound, smell, and sight. For example, rather than saying “She drank the lemonade,” say: “She felt her tongue tingle as she sipped the frosty glass of tart, sugary lemonade.”

How do blood smell like?

Human blood, which also contains water and iron, has a smell similar to rust. This is an olfactory illusion. Smell a dry metal paper clip.

How do you teach sensory writing?

Ask students to tell you descriptive details of a place they would all be familiar with (such as the cafeteria, a park in the neighborhood). Explain that students will need details listed under each sense. Once there are enough details under each of the five senses, tell students they just provided sensory details.

How do you write sensory language?

When using sensory details in descriptive writing, the writer must engage in any or a combination of the five senses: see, hear, taste, touch, and smell.

What is sensory images and examples?

It is when a reader combines their schema and the information in the text to create an image in their mind. This image can represent all of the five senses (visual, smell, taste, sound, touch or feeling). … When readers make sensory images as they read, it helps them understand and enjoy the story more.

Is cozy a sensory word?

Adjectives used as sensory words to describe a house, for example, might include towering, menacing, sterile, dilapidated or cozy. … Adverbs, which modify verbs, can also qualify as sensory words.

What does sensory language mean?

Sensory language refers to the use of words to create a connection to any of the five senses. In literature, sensory writing is used to provide the reader with a vivid image or description of something. … This is exactly why writers use sensory language. It helps us to connect to an image, description, action or scene.

What are some examples of the five senses?

What are Your Five Senses?

  • Ears (hearing)
  • Skin and hair (touch)
  • Eyes (sight)
  • Tongue (taste)
  • Nose (smell)

How are five senses used in an essay?

Using The Five Senses In Writing – FAQs

Incorporating the senses into your writing is simple. First, focus on what your characters can see in the scene. Then, one by one, think about what they can hear, smell, feel and taste. Assort your various descriptions and pick out your most powerful few.

What is an example of a sensory experience?

Some of the best things about being alive are the taste of delicious food, the sound of a loved one’s voice, and the feeling of wind blowing through your hair. What do these things have in common? They’re all examples of sensory experiences that bring forth fond memories and joy.

What does sensory mean in child development?

So, what is sensory play? Sensory play includes any activity that stimulates your young child’s senses: touch, smell, taste, movement, balance, sight and hearing. Sensory activities facilitate exploration and naturally encourage children to use scientific processes while they play, create, investigate and explore.

How do you write five senses examples?

How do you write sense?

Tips to Use Your Five Senses When Writing

  1. Sight. The most often used sense when writing is sight. …
  2. Hearing. Loud, soft, yell, whisper, angry, and all kinds of other adjectives are used for sound. …
  3. Smell. Smell is another one of those senses that’s different for each of us. …
  4. Touch. …
  5. Taste. …
  6. Resources.

What are the 5 senses in English?

Senses allow us to observe and understand the world around us. There are five main ways we can do this: through sight (with our eyes), touch (with our fingers), smell (with our nose), taste (with our tongue) and hearing (with our ears).

How do you describe your sense of touch?

Touch consists of several distinct sensations communicated to the brain through specialized neurons in the skin. Pressure, temperature, light touch, vibration, pain and other sensations are all part of the touch sense and are all attributed to different receptors in the skin.

What activity uses all 5 senses?

Originally Answered: What is an activity or action that we as humans use all of our five senses (touch, smell, taste, hear, see)? Eating. You see and smell the food, then you touch it (at least with your mouth) and taste it, while hearing everything from “crunch” to “slosh”.

What are the 33 senses?

How many senses do we have?

  • Sight or vision.
  • Hearing or audition.
  • Smell or olfaction.
  • Taste or gustation.
  • Touch or tactition.

It’s almost too easy.

By using sensory words to evoke the sense of sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell; smart and attractive writers just like you are able to make their words burst to life in their reader’s mind.

In this post, you’ll learn:

  • The science behind sensory details (e.g. why sensory images and words are so persuasive);
  • The definition of sensory details (plus examples);
  • How answering five simple questions will help you write descriptive details that pack your content with sensory language;
  • 500+ sensory words you can incorporate into your own vocabulary and writing (right now).

Let’s dive in.

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The Colossal Power of Sensory Details

Remember the final scene in Field of Dreams when Ray Kinsella has a catch with his dad?

You can smell the grass on the field.

You can hear the sound of the baseball hitting their gloves.

And you can feel Ray’s years of guilt melting away as he closes his eyes, smiles, and tosses the ball back to his dad.

YouTube video

(Be honest. You’re crying right now, aren’t you?)

Field of Dreams made you feel like you were in Ray’s shoes, on his field, playing catch with dad.

The scene creates such a vivid sensory experience for many viewers that whenever they think of playing catch, this scene will come up alongside their own childhood memories.

Here’s why:

When you paint a strong scene in your reader’s imagination, you make it easier for them to pull it back up from their memory. You’ve essentially bookmarked it for them so they can easily find it when something — a sight, a smell, a sound — reminds them of it.

That’s the power of content that incorporates sensory details.

And this power isn’t limited to cinema classics capable of making grown men cry. For centuries, literary giants have been packing their prose and poetry with power words that evoke the senses:

“Cry ‘Havoc,’ and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial”
— William Shakespeare (circa 1599)

In addition to The Bard, authors like Maya Angelou, Edgar Allan Poe, and Charles Dickens excel at sensory writing. So do literally every famous poet you learned about in school.

And that begs the obvious question…

Why are Sensory Details so Effective?

Short answer:

The brains of human beings handle sensory words differently than ordinary words.

In a 2011 study published in The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, experts found that our brains process “tangible” (i.e. sensory) words faster than other words.

And in a study published for Brain and Language in 2012, psychologists found that a certain part of our brain is “activated” when we read sensory words.

In other words:

science

So, we know why sensory details are powerful. And we know writers have been tapping into their power for a long, long time.

Now let’s define them and go over a few sensory language examples:

What are Sensory Details?

Sensory details are descriptive words that appeal to the 5 physical senses. Using sensory imagery, they describe how we see, hear, touch, taste, and smell the world around us.

And, although sensory details are often adjectives, they can also take the form of verbs and adverbs.

Let’s break each one down:

1. Sight Sensory Words

Sight words are related to vision and describe the appearance of something (its color, size, shape, and so on).

Sight word examples:

  • Her golden hair looked disheveled thanks to the gust of wind.
  • He was a towering presence.
  • I ordered a large orange juice, but the waiter brought me a teeny-tiny glass the size of a thimble.

Click here to see all 185 sight sensory words

  1. Angular
  2. Azure
  3. Billowy
  4. Black
  5. Bleary
  6. Bloated
  7. Blonde
  8. Blue
  9. Blurred
  10. Blushing
  11. Branching
  12. Bright
  13. Brilliant
  14. Broad
  15. Brown
  16. Brunette
  17. Bulbous
  18. Bulky
  19. Camouflaged
  20. Chubby
  21. Circular
  22. Colorful
  23. Colorless
  24. Colossal
  25. Contoured
  26. Cosmic
  27. Craggy
  28. Crimson
  29. Crinkled
  30. Crooked
  31. Crowded
  32. Crystalline
  33. Curved
  34. Dark
  35. Dazzling
  36. Deep
  37. Dim
  38. Dingy
  39. Disheveled
  40. Distinct
  41. Drab
  42. Dreary
  43. Dull
  44. Dusty
  45. Elegant
  46. Enchanting
  47. Engaging
  48. Enormous
  49. Faded
  50. Fancy
  51. Fat
  52. Filthy
  53. Flashy
  54. Flat
  55. Flickering
  56. Foggy
  57. Forked
  58. Freckled
  59. Fuzzy
  60. Gargantuan
  61. Gaudy
  62. Gigantic
  63. Ginormous
  64. Glamorous
  65. Gleaming
  66. Glimpse
  67. Glistening
  68. Glitter
  69. Glittering
  70. Globular
  71. Gloomy
  72. Glossy
  73. Glowing
  74. Gold
  75. Graceful
  76. Gray
  77. Green
  78. Grotesque
  79. Hazy
  80. Hollow
  81. Homely
  82. Huge
  83. Illuminated
  84. Immense
  85. Indistinct
  86. Ivory
  87. Knotty
  88. Lacy
  89. Lanky
  90. Large
  91. Lavender
  92. Lean
  93. Lithe
  94. Little
  95. Lofty
  96. Long
  97. Low
  98. Malnourished
  99. Maroon
  100. Massive
  101. Miniature
  102. Misshapen
  103. Misty
  104. Motionless
  105. Mottled
  106. Mountainous
  107. Muddy
  108. Murky
  109. Narrow
  110. Obtuse
  111. Olive
  112. Opaque
  113. Orange
  114. Oval
  115. Pale
  116. Peered
  117. Petite
  118. Pink
  119. Portly
  120. Pristine
  121. Prodigious
  122. Purple
  123. Quaint
  124. Radiant
  125. Rectangular
  126. Red
  127. Reddish
  128. Rippling
  129. Rotund
  130. Round
  131. Ruby
  132. Ruddy
  133. Rusty
  134. Sabotaged
  135. Shadowy
  136. Shallow
  137. Shapeless
  138. Sheer
  139. Shimmering
  140. Shiny
  141. Short
  142. Silver
  143. Skinny
  144. Small
  145. Smudged
  146. Soaring
  147. Sparkling
  148. Sparkly
  149. Spherical
  150. Spotless
  151. Spotted
  152. Square
  153. Steep
  154. Stormy
  155. Straight
  156. Strange
  157. Striped
  158. Sunny
  159. Swooping
  160. Tall
  161. Tapering
  162. Tarnished
  163. Teeny-tiny
  164. Tiny
  165. Towering
  166. Translucent
  167. Transparent
  168. Triangular
  169. Turquoise
  170. Twinkling
  171. Twisted
  172. Ugly
  173. Unsightly
  174. Unusual
  175. Vibrant
  176. Vivid
  177. Weird
  178. White
  179. Wide
  180. Wiry
  181. Wispy
  182. Wizened
  183. Wrinkled
  184. Wrinkly
  185. Yellow

2. Sound Sensory Words

Words related to hearing often describe the sound they make (known as onomatopoeia), but this isn’t always the case.

Examples of hearing words:

  • He had a big, booming voice.
  • The sound of screeching tires was soon followed by the deafening sound of a car horn.
  • As I peeked under the bed, the cackling laughter coming from the closet made the hairs on my arms stand up.

Click here to see all 161 sound sensory words

  1. Babble
  2. Bang
  3. Barking
  4. Bawled
  5. Bawling
  6. Bellow
  7. Blare
  8. Blaring
  9. Bleat
  10. Boom
  11. Booming
  12. Bray
  13. Buzz
  14. Buzzing
  15. Cackle
  16. Cackling
  17. Chatter
  18. Chattering
  19. Cheer
  20. Chiming
  21. Chirping
  22. Chuckle
  23. Clamor
  24. Clang
  25. Clanging
  26. Clap
  27. Clapping
  28. Clicking
  29. Clink
  30. Clinking
  31. Cooing
  32. Coughing
  33. Crackle
  34. Crackling
  35. Crashing
  36. Creak
  37. Croaking
  38. Crow
  39. Crunch
  40. Crunching
  41. Crunchy
  42. Cry
  43. Crying
  44. Deafening
  45. Distorted
  46. Dripping
  47. Ear-piercing
  48. Earsplitting
  49. Exploding
  50. Faint
  51. Fizzing
  52. Gagging
  53. Gasping
  54. Giggle
  55. Giggling
  56. Grate
  57. Grating
  58. Growl
  59. Grumble
  60. Grunt
  61. Grunting
  62. Guffaw
  63. Gurgle
  64. Gurgling
  65. Hanging
  66. Hiss
  67. Hissing
  68. Honking
  69. Howl
  70. Hubbub
  71. Hum
  72. Humming
  73. Hush
  74. Jabber
  75. Jangle
  76. Jangling
  77. Laughing
  78. Moaning
  79. Monotonous
  80. Mooing
  81. Muffled
  82. Mumble
  83. Mumbling
  84. Murmur
  85. Mutter
  86. Muttering
  87. Noisy
  88. Peeping
  89. Piercing
  90. Ping
  91. Pinging
  92. Plopping
  93. Pop
  94. Purring
  95. Quacking
  96. Quiet
  97. Rant
  98. Rapping
  99. Rasping
  100. Raucous
  101. Rave
  102. Ringing
  103. Roar
  104. Roaring
  105. Rumble
  106. Rumbling
  107. Rustle
  108. Rustling
  109. Scratching
  110. Scream
  111. Screaming
  112. Screech
  113. Screeching
  114. Serene
  115. Shout
  116. Shouting
  117. Shrieking
  118. Shrill
  119. Sigh
  120. Silent
  121. Sing
  122. Singing
  123. Sizzling
  124. Slam
  125. Slamming
  126. Snap
  127. Snappy
  128. Snoring
  129. Snort
  130. Splashing
  131. Squawking
  132. Squeaky
  133. Stammer
  134. Stomp
  135. Storm
  136. Stuttering
  137. Tearing
  138. Thudding
  139. Thump
  140. Thumping
  141. Thunder
  142. Thundering
  143. Ticking
  144. Tingling
  145. Tinkling
  146. Twitter
  147. Twittering
  148. Wail
  149. Warbling
  150. Wheezing
  151. Whimper
  152. Whimpering
  153. Whine
  154. Whining
  155. Whir
  156. Whisper
  157. Whispering
  158. Whistle
  159. Whooping
  160. Yell
  161. Yelp

3. Touch Sensory Words

Touch words describe the texture of how something feels. They can also describe emotional feelings.

Examples of touch words:

  • Two minutes into the interview, I knew his abrasive personality would be an issue if we hired him.
  • With a forced smile, I put on the itchy Christmas sweater my grandmother bought me.
  • The Hot Pocket was scalding on the outside, but ice-cold in the middle.

Click here to see all 123 touch sensory words

  1. Abrasive
  2. Balmy
  3. Biting
  4. Boiling
  5. Breezy
  6. Bristly
  7. Bubbly
  8. Bubby
  9. Bumpy
  10. Burning
  11. Bushy
  12. Chilled
  13. Chilly
  14. Clammy
  15. Coarse
  16. Cold
  17. Cool
  18. Cottony
  19. Crawly
  20. Creepy
  21. Cuddly
  22. Cushioned
  23. Damp
  24. Dank
  25. Dirty
  26. Downy
  27. Drenched
  28. Dry
  29. Elastic
  30. Feathery
  31. Feverish
  32. Fine
  33. Fleshy
  34. Fluff
  35. Fluffy
  36. Foamy
  37. Fragile
  38. Freezing
  39. Furry
  40. Glassy
  41. Gluey
  42. Gooey
  43. Grainy
  44. Greasy
  45. Gritty
  46. Gushy
  47. Hairy
  48. Heavy
  49. Hot
  50. Humid
  51. Ice-Cold
  52. Icy
  53. Itchy
  54. Knobbed
  55. Leathery
  56. Light
  57. Lightweight
  58. Limp
  59. Lukewarm
  60. Lumpy
  61. Matted
  62. Metallic
  63. Moist
  64. Mushy
  65. Numbing
  66. Oily
  67. Plastic
  68. Pointed
  69. Powdery
  70. Pulpy
  71. Rocky
  72. Rough
  73. Rubbery
  74. Sandy
  75. Scalding
  76. Scorching
  77. Scratchy
  78. Scummy
  79. Serrated
  80. Shaggy
  81. Sharp
  82. Shivering
  83. Shivery
  84. Silky
  85. Slimy
  86. Slippery
  87. Sloppy
  88. Smooth
  89. Smothering
  90. Soapy
  91. Soft
  92. Sopping
  93. Soupy
  94. Splintery
  95. Spongy
  96. Springy
  97. Sputter
  98. Squashy
  99. Squeal
  100. Squishy
  101. Steamy
  102. Steely
  103. Sticky
  104. Stifled
  105. Stifling
  106. Stinging
  107. Stony
  108. Stubby
  109. Tangled
  110. Tapered
  111. Tender
  112. Tepid
  113. Thick
  114. Thin
  115. Thorny
  116. Tickling
  117. Tough
  118. Unsanitary
  119. Velvety
  120. Warm
  121. Waxy
  122. Wet
  123. Woolly

4. Taste Sensory Words

Taste words are interesting. Though they can describe food, and tease your taste buds with their deliciousness, they’re often used in comparisons and metaphors.

Examples of taste words:

  • It’s a bittersweet situation.
  • Her zesty personality caught Karl’s eye.
  • The scrumptious jalapeno poppers comforted Karl after his bitter rejection.

Click here to see all 51 taste sensory words

  1. Acidic
  2. Appetizing
  3. Bitter
  4. Bittersweet
  5. Bland
  6. Buttery
  7. Charred
  8. Contaminated
  9. Creamy
  10. Crispy
  11. Delectable
  12. Delicious
  13. Doughy
  14. Earthy
  15. Fermented
  16. Flavorful
  17. Flavorless
  18. Floury
  19. Garlicky
  20. Gingery
  21. Gritty
  22. Hearty
  23. Juicy
  24. Luscious
  25. Medicinal
  26. Mellow
  27. Melted
  28. Nauseating
  29. Nutritious
  30. Nutty
  31. Palatable
  32. Peppery
  33. Pickled
  34. Piquant
  35. Raw
  36. Refreshing
  37. Rich
  38. Ripe
  39. Salted
  40. Savory
  41. Scrumptious
  42. Stale
  43. Sugary
  44. Syrupy
  45. Tangy
  46. Tart
  47. Tasteless
  48. Unripe
  49. Vinegary
  50. Yummy
  51. Zesty

5. Smell Sensory Words

Words related to smell describe — yes, you guessed it — how things smell. Often underutilized, sensory words connected with smell can be very effective.

Examples of smell words:

  • The pungent smell was unmistakable: someone in this elevator was wearing Axe Body Spray.
  • No matter the expiration date, it was clear from its rancid stench the milk had gone bad.
  • The flowery aroma was a welcome change after the elevator and milk incidents.

Click here to see all 47 smell sensory words

  1. Ambrosial
  2. Antiseptic
  3. Aroma
  4. Aromatic
  5. Briny
  6. Citrusy
  7. Decayed
  8. Decomposed
  9. Doggy
  10. Fetid
  11. Floral
  12. Flowery
  13. Foul-smelling
  14. Fragrant
  15. Gamy
  16. Gaseous
  17. Horrid
  18. Inodorous
  19. Malodorous
  20. Mephitic
  21. Musky
  22. Musty
  23. Odiferous
  24. Odor
  25. Odorless
  26. Old
  27. Perfumed
  28. Piney
  29. Polluted
  30. Pungent
  31. Putrid
  32. Rancid
  33. Rank
  34. Redolent
  35. Reeking
  36. Scent
  37. Scented
  38. Sickly
  39. Skunky
  40. Smell
  41. Smoky
  42. Stagnant
  43. Stench
  44. Stinky
  45. Sweaty
  46. Tempting
  47. Whiff

Bonus: Taste and Smell Sensory Words

Because they’re closely related, some sensory words can be used for both taste and smell. Examples: fruity, minty, and tantalizing.

Click here to see all 16 taste & smell sensory words

  1. Acrid
  2. Burnt
  3. Fishy
  4. Fresh
  5. Fruity
  6. Lemony
  7. Minty
  8. Moldy
  9. Mouth-watering
  10. Rotten
  11. Salty
  12. Sour
  13. Spicy
  14. Spoiled
  15. Sweet
  16. Tantalizing

Next, we’ll look at a few real-world examples of sensory details.

Sensory Details: Examples in the Wild

Imagine the following headline came across your Twitter feed:

How to Avoid Using Boring Stock Photo Images in Your Content

Would you click it?

Better question…

Could you read the headline without falling asleep?

The answers are probably “no” and “heck no.”

Now imagine you saw this headline:

Sensory Words in Headlines

Much better, right?

The simple addition of the sensory word “cringeworthy” changes the tone of the entire headline. Instead of yawning, you’re thinking of an awkward or embarrassing moment you really don’t want to relive.

Let’s look at a few more modern-day examples of sharp people using sensory language to spruce up their content:

Using Sensory Words in Author Bios

I’ll pick on me for this one.

Here’s one of my old author bios:

Kevin J. Duncan is the Editor of Smart Blogger, where he helps writers learn the skills they need to land writing gigs that pay.

Now look at the author bio my friend Henneke wrote for Writer’s Block: 27 Techniques to Overcome It Forever:

Henneke Duistermaat is an irreverent copywriter and business writing coach. She’s on a mission to stamp out gobbledygook and to make boring business blogs sparkle.

My bio is devoid of sensory words (or any interesting words at all, if we’re being honest).

Henneke’s is chock full of them.

Her bio is interesting.

Mine is boring.

The lesson? Add at least one sensory word to your author bio.

Using Sensory Words in Social Media Profiles

Some people opt for brevity when writing their social media profiles, and that’s fine.

But if you want your Twitter profile (or Facebook, Instagram, or any other social media profile) to stand out from the crowd, sprinkle in a sensory word or two.

Like so:

Sensory Words in Twitter Profiles

Mel Wicks is a veteran copywriter who knows a thing or two about the effectiveness of descriptive detail, so she uses them to spice up her Twitter profile.

Here’s an example from my badly-neglected Instagram account:

Sensory Words in Instagram Profile

“Enchanting” and “adorably-jubilant” are wonderful sensory words — so wonderful, it’s a shame they’re wasted on a profile no one sees.

Look at your own profiles and see if there’s a place to add a sensory word or two. They’ll help your profile jump off the screen.

Heck, see if you can use enchanting and adorably-jubilant.

They deserve to be seen.

Using Sensory Words in Introductions

The opening lines of your content are so important.

If you’re a student, your opening sets the tone for your teacher (who we both know is dying to use his red pen).

If you’re an author, your opening can be the difference between someone buying (and reading) your book or putting it back on the shelf in favor of one of those Twilight books (probably).

And if you’re a blogger, writer, content marketer, or business; your opening sentence can hook the reader’s interest (increasing dwell time, which is great in Google’s eyes) or send them scurrying for the “back” button.

It’s why we put such an emphasis on introductions here at Smart Blogger.

Sometimes our openings hook you with a question.

Sometimes we strike a note of empathy or (like this blog post) focus on searcher intent.

And sometimes we give you a heaping helping of sensory words:

Imagine you’re sitting in a lounge chair on the beach, staring out over the glittering sea, the ocean breeze ruffling your hair, listening to the slow, steady rhythm of the waves.

In the above opening for How to Become a Freelance Writer, Starting from Scratch, Jon Morrow uses figurative language to set a scene for the reader.

And it’s highly, highly effective.

Using Sensory Words in Email Subject Lines

Like you, your readers are flooded with emails.

And with open rates in a steady decline, people are trying anything and everything to make their email subject lines stand out:

  • Emojis;
  • Capitalized words;
  • All lowercase letters;
  • Two exclamation points;
  • Clickbait that would make even BuzzFeed go, “that’s too far, man.”

You name it, people are trying it.

Want a simpler, far-more-effective way to help your emails stand out from the crowd?

Add a sensory detail.

Brian Dean loves to include words like “boom” in his subjects:

Sensory Words in Email Subjects

The folks at AppSumo and Sumo (formerly SumoMe) regularly feature descriptive words in their subjects and headlines.

Here’s one example:

Sensory Words in Email Subjects

And sensory language appears in most everything Henneke writes, including her subject lines.

In this one she also uses an emoji related to her sensory word. Very clever:

Sensory Words in Email Subjects

Now that we’ve covered several examples, let’s dig a bit deeper…

Let’s discuss some practical steps you can take that will make adding figurative language to your own writing style a breeze:

How Descriptive Details Can Pack Your Writing With Sensory Language

If you’ve taken a good English or creative writing class, you’ve probably been told a time or two to “show, don’t tell.”

This means you should create an engaging experience for your audience; not just tell them what you want them to know.

You accomplish this by using descriptive writing that conveys sensations and lets readers experience your words (rather than simply read them).

And how do you do that, exactly?

Ask yourself these five questions when you’re writing:

#1. What Do You See?

It isn’t enough to tell your readers there was a scary house in your neighborhood when you were a child. Describe the house to them in vivid sensory detail.

What shade of gray was it?

Were the doors boarded up?

Precisely how many ghostly figures did you and the neighbor kids see staring at you from the upstairs bedroom windows, and how many are standing behind you right now?

Paint a mental image for your readers.

#2. What Do You Hear?

We listen to uptempo songs to push us through cardio workouts. Many of us listen to rainfall when we’re trying to sleep. Some of us listen to Justin Bieber when we want to punish our neighbors.

Want to transplant readers into your literary world?

Talk about the drip, drip, drip of the faucet.

Mention the squeaking floors beneath your feet.

Describe the awful music coming from your next-door neighbor’s house.

#3. How Does it Feel?

Touch sensory words can convey both tactile and emotional sensations.

Can you describe to the reader how something feels when touched? Is it smooth or rough? Round or flat? Is it covered in goo or is it goo-less?

Paint a picture for your reader so they can touch what you’re touching.

The same goes for emotion. Help the reader feel what you (or your character) are feeling. Draw them in.

#4. What Does it Taste Like?

Does the beach air taste salty? Is the roaring fire so intense you can taste the smoke? Is the smell of your roommate’s tuna fish sandwich so strong you can taste it from across the room?

Tell your audience.

Be descriptive.

Make them taste the fishiness.

#5. How Does it Smell?

It wasn’t a basement you walked into — it was a musty, moldy basement.

And you didn’t simply enjoy your Mom’s homemade lasagna. You inhaled the aromatic scents of sauce, cheese, and basil.

Evoking the sense of smell is possibly the most effective way to pull readers out of their world and into yours.

So when you sit down to write, ask yourself if it’s possible to describe how something smells. And if you can? Do it.

The Massive Sensory Words List: 583 (and Counting) Descriptive Words to Supercharge Your Writing With Sensory Language

Once you’ve asked and answered the five questions above, your writing will be packed with sensory details.

In time, you’ll build up your own massive list of sensory words you can reference and sprinkle throughout your work (no thesaurus needed!).

But in the meantime, here’s my list.

Bookmark them.

Print them.

Freebie:

Click here

to download a handy PDF for all 583 sensory words.

Use them often:

SIGHT WORDS SOUND WORDS
Angular Babble
Azure Bang
Billowy Barking
Black Bawled
Bleary Bawling
Bloated Bellow
Blonde Blare
Blue Blaring
Blurred Bleat
Blushing Boom
Branching Booming
Bright Bray
Brilliant Buzz
Broad Buzzing
Brown Cackle
Brunette Cackling
Bulbous Chatter
Bulky Chattering
Camouflaged Cheer
Chubby Chiming
Circular Chirping
Colorful Chuckle
Colorless Clamor
Colossal Clang
Contoured Clanging
Cosmic Clap
Craggy Clapping
Crimson Clicking
Crinkled Clink
Crooked Clinking
Crowded Cooing
Crystalline Coughing
Curved Crackle
Dark Crackling
Dazzling Crashing
Deep Creak
Dim Croaking
Dingy Crow
Disheveled Crunch
Distinct Crunching
Drab Crunchy
Dreary Cry
Dull Crying
Dusty Deafening
Elegant Distorted
Enchanting Dripping
Engaging Ear-piercing
Enormous Earsplitting
Faded Exploding
Fancy Faint
Fat Fizzing
Filthy Gagging
Flashy Gasping
Flat Giggle
Flickering Giggling
Foggy Grate
Forked Grating
Freckled Growl
Fuzzy Grumble
Gargantuan Grunt
Gaudy Grunting
Gigantic Guffaw
Ginormous Gurgle
Glamorous Gurgling
Gleaming Hanging
Glimpse Hiss
Glistening Hissing
Glitter Honking
Glittering Howl
Globular Hubbub
Gloomy Hum
Glossy Humming
Glowing Hush
Gold Jabber
Graceful Jangle
Gray Jangling
Green Laughing
Grotesque Moaning
Hazy Monotonous
Hollow Mooing
Homely Muffled
Huge Mumble
Illuminated Mumbling
Immense Murmur
Indistinct Mutter
Ivory Muttering
Knotty Noisy
Lacy Peeping
Lanky Piercing
Large Ping
Lavender Pinging
Lean Plopping
Lithe Pop
Little Purring
Lofty Quacking
Long Quiet
Low Rant
Malnourished Rapping
Maroon Rasping
Massive Raucous
Miniature Rave
Misshapen Ringing
Misty Roar
Motionless Roaring
Mottled Rumble
Mountainous Rumbling
Muddy Rustle
Murky Rustling
Narrow Scratching
Obtuse Scream
Olive Screaming
Opaque Screech
Orange Screeching
Oval Serene
Pale Shout
Peered Shouting
Petite Shrieking
Pink Shrill
Portly Sigh
Pristine Silent
Prodigious Sing
Purple Singing
Quaint Sizzling
Radiant Slam
Rectangular Slamming
Red Snap
Reddish Snappy
Rippling Snoring
Rotund Snort
Round Splashing
Ruby Squawking
Ruddy Squeaky
Rusty Stammer
Sabotaged Stomp
Shadowy Storm
Shallow Stuttering
Shapeless Tearing
Sheer Thudding
Shimmering Thump
Shiny Thumping
Short Thunder
Silver Thundering
Skinny Ticking
Small Tingling
Smudged Tinkling
Soaring Twitter
Sparkling Twittering
Sparkly Wail
Spherical Warbling
Spotless Wheezing
Spotted Whimper
Square Whimpering
Steep Whine
Stormy Whining
Straight Whir
Strange Whisper
Striped Whispering
Sunny Whistle
Swooping Whooping
Tall Yell
Tapering Yelp
Tarnished
Teeny-tiny
Tiny
Towering
Translucent
Transparent
Triangular
Turquoise
Twinkling
Twisted
Ugly
Unsightly
Unusual
Vibrant
Vivid
Weird
White
Wide
Wiry
Wispy
Wizened
Wrinkled
Wrinkly
Yellow
TOUCH WORDS TASTE WORDS
Abrasive Acidic
Balmy Appetizing
Biting Bitter
Boiling Bittersweet
Breezy Bland
Bristly Buttery
Bubbly Charred
Bubby Contaminated
Bumpy Creamy
Burning Crispy
Bushy Delectable
Chilled Delicious
Chilly Doughy
Clammy Earthy
Coarse Fermented
Cold Flavorful
Cool Flavorless
Cottony Floury
Crawly Garlicky
Creepy Gingery
Cuddly Gritty
Cushioned Hearty
Damp Juicy
Dank Luscious
Dirty Medicinal
Downy Mellow
Drenched Melted
Dry Nauseating
Elastic Nutritious
Feathery Nutty
Feverish Palatable
Fine Peppery
Fleshy Pickled
Fluff Piquant
Fluffy Raw
Foamy Refreshing
Fragile Rich
Freezing Ripe
Furry Salty/Salted
Glassy Savory
Gluey Scrumptious
Gooey Stale
Grainy Sugary
Greasy Syrupy
Gritty Tangy
Gushy Tart
Hairy Tasteless
Heavy Unripe
Hot Vinegary
Humid Yummy
Ice-Cold Zesty
Icy
Itchy
Knobbed
Leathery
Light
Lightweight
Limp
Lukewarm
Lumpy
Matted
Metallic
Moist
Mushy
Numbing
Oily
Plastic
Pointed
Powdery
Pulpy
Rocky
Rough
Rubbery
Sandy
Scalding
Scorching
Scratchy
Scummy
Serrated
Shaggy
Sharp
Shivering
Shivery
Silky
Slimy
Slippery
Sloppy
Smooth
Smothering
Soapy
Soft
Sopping
Soupy
Splintery
Spongy
Springy
Sputter
Squashy
Squeal
Squishy
Steamy
Steely
Sticky
Stifled
Stifling
Stinging
Stony
Stubby
Tangled
Tapered
Tender
Tepid
Thick
Thin
Thorny
Tickling
Tough
Unsanitary
Velvety
Warm
Waxy
Wet
Woolly
SMELL WORDS TASTE & SMELL WORDS
Ambrosial Acrid
Antiseptic Burnt
Aroma Fishy
Aromatic Fresh
Briny Fruity
Citrusy Lemony
Decayed Minty
Decomposed Moldy
Doggy Mouth-watering
Fetid Rotten
Floral Salty
Flowery Sour
Foul-smelling Spicy
Fragrant Spoiled
Gamy Sweet
Gaseous Tantalizing
Horrid
Inodorous
Malodorous
Mephitic
Musky
Musty
Odiferous
Odor
Odorless
Old
Perfumed
Piney
Polluted
Pungent
Putrid
Rancid
Rank
Redolent
Reeking
Scent
Scented
Sickly
Skunky
Smell
Smoky
Stagnant
Stench
Stinky
Sweaty
Tempting
Whiff

Are You Ready to Unleash the Power of Sensory Details?

It’s time to say goodbye.

Goodbye to lifeless, boring words that sit on the page.

Goodbye to indifferent readers ready to move on to something, anything, else.

You now know why sensory details are so effective. You know how to sprinkle descriptive words and phrases throughout your content. And you now have a massive, ever-growing list of sensory words to bookmark and come back to again and again.

Variations of the following quote have been attributed to everyone from Carl W. Buehner to Maya Angelou, but regardless of who said it, and how they said it, it’s true:

“People may forget what you said, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.”

It’s time to make your readers feel.

Are you ready?

Then let’s do this thing.

What are some examples of sensory words?

Sensory words are descriptive—they describe how we experience the world: how we smell, see, hear, feel or taste something. Words related to sight indicate colours, shape, or appearance. For instance: gloomy, dazzling, bright, foggy, gigantic.

What are sensory words in writing?

Sensory language brings our writing to life, and it helps the reader to feel like they are a part of the experience. Sensory language are words that link readers to the five senses: touch, sight, sound, smell, and taste.

How do you use sensory words?

Sensory words use all five senses. They include sight, touch, smell, hearing, and feeling. Using sensory words increases your ability to write in details. It’s also great practice for the usage of adjectives.

What are sensory words for smell?

General Words Describing Smells

  • anosmic – odourless, no smell at all.
  • antiseptic – clean or pure smell that is bland an characterless.
  • aroma – a smell that is strong but pleasant.
  • comforting – pleasant aroma.
  • delicate – subtle, faint, smell that is not overpowering.

What are the 5 sensory words?

Examples of Sensory Words Keep reading for lists of words that heighten all five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.

What are the five sensory words?

Sensory details appeal to the five senses: sight, sound, smell , touch, taste. When writing a personal narrative, your objective is to get the reader to feel like they are there with you.

What is sensory example?

The definition of sensory is something that has to do with the senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, or hearing. An example of sensory used as an adjective is a sensory event, such as the smelling of flowers. adjective.

How do you describe the feeling of being touched?

The definition of touch is to feel or handle with fingers, hands, toes, etc.; to come in contact with someone or something. It is one of the five senses that communicates texture, temperature and density to the brain through feeling….

Touch (Feel) Adjectives
fuzzy sensitive wooly

What are sensory words in a poem?

Sensory Language Definition Sensory Language is a word(s) used to invoke mental images and visualize the story or poem. It means using language to create mental pictures that appeal to the sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

What are the 5 senses in descriptive writing?

One way to achieve effective descriptive writing is to include vivid sensory details. This helps to create a clear picture in the reader’s mind. We can do this by appealing to the reader’s senses of hearing, sight, smell, touch and taste, as well as their feelings.

How do you identify sensory language?

Sensory details include sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. Sensory details engage the reader’s interest, and should be incorporated to add more depth to your writing. Imagery is the sight sense.

What is a 4 line poem called?

quatrain

What is a 5 line poem called?

quintain

What is a 6 line poem called?

Sestet

What is a 10 line poem called?

decastich

What is a 1 line poem called?

monostich

What is a 7 line poem called?

Septet

What do you call a poem with 9 lines?

A nonet is a nine-line poem. In the nonet form, each line contains specific, descending syllable counts. The first line contains nine syllables, the second line contains eight, the third line contains seven, and so on.

What is a poem with 20 lines called?

Roundabout is: A 20 line poem, attributed to David Edwards. Stanzaic: Consisting of 4 five-line stanza. Metered: Iambic with feet of 4/3/2/2/3 per line.

What is a 30 line poem called?

A tercet is a stanza of poetry with three lines; it can be a single-stanza poem or it can be a verse embedded in a larger poem.

What is an 8 line poem called?

octave

What are the 5 types of poetry?

15 Types of Poetic Forms

  • Blank verse. Blank verse is poetry written with a precise meter—almost always iambic pentameter—that does not rhyme.
  • Rhymed poetry. In contrast to blank verse, rhymed poems rhyme by definition, although their scheme varies.
  • Free verse.
  • Epics.
  • Narrative poetry.
  • Haiku.
  • Pastoral poetry.
  • Sonnet.

What is a 14 line verse called?

Sonnet

What are lines of a poem called?

Lines of poems are often organized into stanzas, or verses, which are denominated by the number of lines included. Thus a collection of two lines is a couplet (or distich), three lines a triplet (or tercet), four lines a quatrain, and so on.

How many lines is a poem?

A stanza is a group of lines that form the basic metrical unit in a poem. So, in a 12-line poem, the first four lines might be a stanza. You can identify a stanza by the number of lines it has and its rhyme scheme or pattern, such as A-B-A-B. There are many different types of stanzas.

What is a 13 line poem called?

rondel

What does a 14 line poem look like?

Sonnet Form The original form is the Italian or Petrarchan sonnet, in which the 14 lines are arranged in an octet (8 lines) rhyming abba abba and a sestet (6 lines) rhyming either cdecde or cdcdcd.

What is a 16 line stanza called?

quatern

What is a 100 line poem called?

ode

What type of poem has only 3 lines?

tercet

What is an example of sensory imagery?

When a writer attempts to describe something so that it appeals to our sense of smell, sight, taste, touch, or hearing; he/she has used imagery. Examples of Imagery: 1. I could hear the popping and crackling as mom dropped the bacon into the frying pan, and soon the salty, greasy smell wafted toward me.

How do you write sensory language?

The only sense omitted is the sense of smell. Sensory language enhances your writing and immerses your reader in the scene. It helps the reader to visualize, hear, and imagine the scenario, so they can experience it rather than just digest the information you’re trying to convey.

What are the 5 sensory details?

Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste, and Touch: How the Human Body Receives Sensory Information.

What are the 5 senses in English?

There are five senses – sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing. Our senses help us to understand what’s happening around us.

What are some examples of the five senses?

They are hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell….The organs involved in your five senses are:

  • Ears (hearing)
  • Skin and hair (touch)
  • Eyes (sight)
  • Tongue (taste)
  • Nose (smell)

What is sixth sense?

: a power of perception like but not one of the five senses : a keen intuitive power.

Which of the 5 senses is the most important?

vision

In what order do the 5 senses develop?

Understanding the Developmental Order of a Baby’s Senses. There are five senses your baby develops; touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight.

What are the seven senses?

Did You Know There Are 7 Senses?

  • Sight (Vision)
  • Hearing (Auditory)
  • Smell (Olfactory)
  • Taste (Gustatory)
  • Touch (Tactile)
  • Vestibular (Movement): the movement and balance sense, which gives us information about where our head and body are in space.

What is the first sense?

Touch is thought to be the first sense that humans develop, according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Touch consists of several distinct sensations communicated to the brain through specialized neurons in the skin.

What is the first sense organ that grows?

Touch. This is the very first sense to form, with development starting at around 8 weeks. The sense of touch initially begins with sensory receptor development in the face, mostly on the lips and nose.

Does the heart or brain develop first?

Just four weeks after conception, the neural tube along your baby’s back is closing. The baby’s brain and spinal cord will develop from the neural tube. The heart and other organs also are starting to form and the heart begins to beat. Structures necessary to the formation of the eyes and ears develop.

What are babies aware of in the womb?

Be careful what you say around a pregnant woman. As a fetus grows inside a mother’s belly, it can hear sounds from the outside world—and can understand them well enough to retain memories of them after birth, according to new research.

What are sense organs for Class 3?

The sense organs are the body organs by which humans are able to see, smell, hear, taste, and touch or feel. The five sense organs are the eyes (for seeing), nose (for smelling), ears (for hearing), tongue (for tasting), and skin (for touching or feeling).

What are the 6 sense organs?

Because when you start counting sense organs, you get to six right away: the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, and the vestibular system. Our understanding of the vestibular system’s role as a sense organ dates only to the early 1800s, more than two millennia after Aristotle.

How do you take care of your sense organs in Class 3?

Follow a healthy lifestyle – avoid smoking, take exercise and eat a healthy diet. Ensure a healthy environment – wear sunglasses when needed and limit exposure to very loud noise. Be alert to any marked or sudden change in our senses and seek medical advice promptly.

Why is learning the 5 senses important?

The five senses of hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell are the primary means we use to gain new knowledge. We rarely experience with one sense alone. Our sense work together to give us a total picture of our experiences. Using many senses to gain information helps learning to be more meaningful and useful.

What is the 5 senses gift?

The concept of a “five senses gift” is to buy or create gifts that appeals to the basic senses of the human body: sound, touch, taste, smell and sight.

What activities use all 5 senses?

Here are eight activities to encourage your child to use his or her five senses.

  • Sense of Taste. Taste Match Game. There are five primary taste sensations:
  • Sense of Touch. Discover Nature.
  • Sense of Hearing. Listening Walk.
  • Sense of Smell. Scented Rice Bin.
  • Sense of Sight. Observation and Memory Game.

What is the most sensitive sense?

sense of smell

What is your weakest sense?

Taste is a sensory function of the central nervous system, and is considered the weakest sense in the human body.

What’s your strongest sense?

Smell

Which of the 5 senses is least important?

Can you live without your five senses?

A person without 5 senses or completely defunct senses cannot live independently for long, unless a caretaker looks after his needs voluntarily & moment the support is removed, his slow death is certain. This type is very rare or not recorded in history so far. Learned people can throw light on this aspect.

Which of the 5 senses would you live without?

Out of our 5 senses, our ability to sense touch (also called “haptic” sense) is the first one to develop as we’re a growing foetus. Biologically this speaks to its primary importance of touch in life, over and above the other senses. In fact, it is the one sense that you cannot live without.

Which sense is the most dominant?

Vision

Teaching Students to Identify Sensory Words

Teaching students to identify sensory details as they read is a great way to teach author’s craft. And, bonus, it helps to encourage students to use descriptive language in their own writing! Here are some ways that I teach and review sensory words in the upper elementary classroom.

What Are Sensory Words?

Sensory words describe what we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel or touch. Authors use sensory verbs and adjectives particularly in fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry to “show, not tell.” Sensory language helps the reader experience what is happening in the story – to “visualize” it with their own senses. It helps us to connect with the story, understand what the characters are experiencing, and even better enjoy and remember the text.

Mini sensory words anchor charts for reading notebooks are great for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students to refer to during a poetry or fiction unit.

Most states teach the five senses in science in grades K-2, so by 3rd and 4th grade, students should have a good understanding of what the senses are. They’ve also likely had a lot of practice with visualizing, so now is a good time to have them consider how an author’s language appeals to all of our senses.

Introducing Sensory Language

I recommend teaching sensory words early in the school year since students will see them in multiple genres as well as in your writing lessons. You may have already hit them in science, too.

I’ve introduced sensory words in reading workshop a couple of ways. One is doing a shared reading where we notice and name examples of sensory language in the text. I try to pick a funny poem or a really engaging picture book. Another option is to start with a sorting activity where students sort words and phrases according to sense.

Students can complete a sorting activity to sort sensory words by sense.

I also like reading I Hear a Pickle with students who need a refresh on the five senses.

Prompts for Students

When I teach this standard, I want students to identify examples of sensory details, but also to understand why the author uses them. I find the questions and sentence frames below to be helpful.

  • What sense does this word appeal to?
  • The word __________ appeals to my sense of ___________.
  • Why did the author use the word ___________ to describe __________?
  • What does the author want us to think about here?
  • Look at the word _________. What sense would you use to experience this?
  • When I read __________, I used my sense of ___________ to visualize it.

Interactive Read Alouds

An interactive read aloud is a great way for students to practice identifying words that appeal to our senses. Fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry are all good go-to’s to look for sensory details examples.

One option is to create an anchor chart and to write down examples as you read. You can try having students close their eyes and give a thumbs up when they hear sensory words. You can also give students mini versions of the anchor chart for them to complete during the read aloud or later as part of guided reading groups or independent reading.

Graphic organizers are great to use with mentor texts to help students identify sensory details.

If your students struggle, you can copy examples of sensory details from the book ahead of time and then have students sort them by sense as you read.

See the end of this post for a list of recommended read alouds!

Sensory Words Scavenger Hunt

A sensory word scavenger hunt works well as a small group activity or center. I pull books and poems ahead of time that I know have multiple examples of sensory language. Students use sticky notes to identify different examples in the text.

Students can highlight sensory language examples they find in a fiction passage or poem.

Finding Sensory Words in Poetry

Poetry is full of sensory words! You can also use poems as interactive read alouds using the strategies I mentioned earlier. Another idea is to copy poems for small groups to read. They can use different colored pencils or markers to circle sensory words that appeal to the different senses.

Here are a few poems and collections that work well, though there are tons you could use:

  • “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout” by Shel Silverstein
  • “The Dirtiest Man in the World” by Shel Silverstein
  • A Lucky Thing by Alice Schertle
  • Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow by Joyce Sidman
  • Suzie Bitner Was Afraid of the Drain by Barbara Vance
  • any poetry collection by Jack Prelutsky

Recommended Mentor Texts

Here are some of my favorite picture books for teaching sensory details:

  • Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
  • Into the Sea by Brenda Z. Guiberson
  • Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner
  • Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco
  • Fireflies by Julie Brinckloe
  • Hello Ocean by Pam Muñoz Ryan
  • Kate, Who Tamed the Wind by Liz Garton Scanlon
  • The Night Box by Louise Greig
  • Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
  • Charlotte and the Quiet Place by Deborah Sosin
  • Apples to Oregon by Deborah Hopkinson

I hope that helps you to get started planning lessons on sensory details during a poetry or fiction unit! If you want to save time and grab some ready-to-go sensory words resources, I’ve got you covered!

Great ideas for teaching sensory details in your upper elementary reading workshop! Don't forget to check out this list of mentor texts for sensory words!

Amazon Affiliate links are included in this post.

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