Sensible means reasonable and showing good judgement: a sensible decision. It does not mean sensitive: skin that reacts easily is sensitive skin. About things, sensible means practical and comfortable: sensible shoes are comfortable rather than fashionable.
sensible: will you get the meaning right?
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a sensible + decision/choice/person; it's sensible + to + verb; sensible shoes/clothes; sensitive skin (not sensible)
- Booking the tickets early was a sensible decision, because prices doubled a week later.
- She's a sensible student who always starts revising a month before her exams.
- Wear sensible shoes, because we'll be walking around the old town for four hours.
What changed
First versionMy skin is very sensible, so I can't use this soap.
RevisionMy skin is very sensitive, so I can't use this soap.
Sensible and sensitive are easy to mix up: both are related to sense, but they mean different things. Sensitive skin reacts easily, while sensible skin would sound like “skin with good judgement”.
Reasonable also means “showing good sense”, but it has a shade of “acceptable, fair”: a reasonable price is a normal price, not too high. Sensible describes good sense in actions and decisions: a sensible plan.
Your turn
It would be ___ to take an umbrella: the forecast says it will rain all afternoon.
Show the answer
sensible — Taking an umbrella when rain is forecast shows good sense, so the answer is sensible. Sensitive means easily affected or easily hurt, and it doesn't describe a wise action.
Write about a sensible decision you made on a trip, at work or in your studies. Say what you did and why it turned out to be right.
Before my trip to Georgia, I made the sensible decision to buy travel insurance, and it paid for my visit to a doctor there.
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