“The sensuous dance was unsuitable for children.”
Usage Entry 1419 / 1605 60-second read
Sensual vs. Sensuous
Physical-pleasure-oriented (often sexual) versus appealing to the senses (aesthetic).
The comparisoni
“The sensual dance was unsuitable for children — SENSUAL implies physical or sexual pleasure. SENSUOUS implies aesthetic appeal to the senses.”
The ruleii
¶
SENSUAL = bodily. SENSUOUS = aesthetic.
Coleridge coined SENSUOUS to give writers a word for "appealing to the senses" without the sexual connotation that SENSUAL had picked up. The split holds in careful prose; casual usage blurs it.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
Sensual = body. Sensuous = beauty.