sentient

Definition

Experiencing sensation, thought, or feeling.

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

• "Consider fish, who are apparently sentient yet cognitively extremely primitive in comparison with humans."
• "Obviously, other morally relevant considerations would apply to the case of a sentient fetus, as by acquiring sentience it acquires interests and moral status."
• "While I had heard such talk before, I had always felt that sentient robots were in the realm of science fiction. But now, from someone I respected [Ray Kurzweil], I was hearing a strong argument that they were a near-term possibility."