sensation

 
Pronunciation: /sɛnˈseɪʃ(ə)n/

noun

  • 1a physical feeling or perception resulting from something that happens to or comes into contact with the body: a burning sensation in the middle of the chest
  • [mass noun] the capacity to have physical sensations: they had lost sensation in one or both forearms
  • an inexplicable awareness or impression: [with clause]: she had the eerie sensation that she was being watched
  • 2a widespread reaction of interest and excitement: his arrest for poisoning caused a sensation
  • a person, object, or event that arouses widespread interest and excitement: she was a sensation, the talk of the evening

Origin:

early 17th century: from medieval Latin sensatio(n-), from Latin sensus (see sense)