sensory language
Words evoking senses
Sensory language is writing that appeals to the five senses—sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
Rather than abstract description, it creates vivid experience: not "the kitchen was pleasant" but "cinnamon and butter filled the air." The term appears mainly in writing instruction and literary analysis.
Her sensory language made readers feel the summer heat.
- five sensesBasic perceptual capacities
- fragrantEmitting pleasant smell
- resonantDeeply vibrating with sound
- savoryAppetizing, not sweet
- pungentSharply strong-smelling
damp · warm breeze · goose bumps · bitter · echoing · vivid · imagery · gritty · musty · shimmering · visceral · gustatory · melodic · crackling fire · tactile · kinesthetic · sour · show don't tell