What is the meaning of sensible?

Answer 1

The meaning of the word sensible seems to have changed with time. In Jane Austen's day, or at least, certainly as it applied to Marianne Dashwood, it meant something more like "capable of having an emotional impression or response." The word still has that meaning, but its primary meaning has become "rational," or "having good sense," almost the opposite.

Marianne goes through the book searching for emotional impressions because they are what she values, to augment them when she finds them. She purposely makes herself more sensible of the emotional content of her life, to the point of excluding good sense.

Answer 2

Someone who is reasonable and uses sense and logic to make decisions.

Answer 3

Sensible refers to being practical, reasonable, or showing good judgment. It can also mean being aware of and responsive to the emotions and feelings of others.