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Prepositions after adjectives

Sensible with different prepositions

Sensible can mean practical and reasonable or aware of something. Different prepositions change the meaning.

Quick answer

Which preposition is used with sensible?

Use sensible about for careful behaviour, sensible of for awareness, and sensible to for responsiveness. Sensible for and sensible in are less common and depend on sentence structure.

She is sensible about money.
He was sensible of the risk.
The skin is sensible to heat.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
sensible about + topic

Being careful and practical

Use sensible about when talking about responsible attitudes or decisions.

They are sensible about spending.
She is sensible about her diet.
2
sensible of + noun

Being aware of something

Use sensible of in formal English to mean aware or conscious of something.

He was sensible of the tension in the room.
We are sensible of our responsibilities.
3
sensible to + influence

Reacting to external conditions

Use sensible to for physical or emotional responsiveness.

Children are sensible to loud noise.
The material is sensible to moisture.
4
sensible in + activity

Showing good judgement in a situation

Use sensible in before actions or areas where judgement is shown.

She was sensible in choosing a smaller apartment.
They are sensible in negotiations.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
sensible about
He is sensible about online security.
Careful, practical, and responsible.
sensible of
She was sensible of the danger.
Aware or conscious of something.
sensible to
Some plants are sensible to frost.
Affected by or responsive to something.
sensible for
It is sensible for children to wear helmets.
For often introduces the person in an infinitive structure, not a direct adjective pattern.
sensible in
They were sensible in their investments.
Showing good judgement in a particular activity.

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using sensible to for practical judgement

Sensible to usually means responsive or affected, not practical.

✕ She is sensible to money. ✓ She is sensible about money.

Using sensible of in informal contexts

Sensible of is formal and less common in everyday speech.

✕ I'm sensible of your feelings. ✓ I'm aware of your feelings.

Confusing sensible and sensitive

Sensible means practical or aware; sensitive means easily affected.

✕ He is sensible to criticism. ✓ He is sensitive to criticism.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. They are very ___ saving money.
2. She was ___ the difficulties ahead.
3. This fabric is ___ sunlight.

Check your sentence in context

Paste the complete sentence below. Linguix checks the preposition together with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style.

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Frequently asked questions

Is sensible of old-fashioned?

It is formal and less common in everyday conversation, but still correct.

Can sensible mean aware?

Yes. In formal English, sensible of means aware or conscious of something.

Do native speakers say sensible about?

Yes. It is very common for practical and responsible behaviour.

sacred-to-in-by-of, for "sad for" or "sad about"? "safe for", "safe from" or "safe in"? sanguine about, in, of, on or for? "satisfactory to" or "satisfactory for"? satisfied with, of, by, in or on? "satisfying for" or "satisfying to"? scarce in, for, at, on or of? scared of, to, about, for or by? "scary for" or "scary to"? "scathing about", "scathing in" or "scathing of"? "sceptical about" or "sceptical of"?

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