The main difference between since and sense is their usage and their meaning. Since is an English language word that can be used as a preposition, conjunction, and adverb of time, whereas, the sense is used as a noun which means “intelligence” and as a verb, it means “feeling”.
Since and sense may sound similar during pronunciation, but they have completely different meanings, that’s why people get confused sometimes. However, some children, teenagers and even adults of colleges mix up these words.
Since is used to indicate the meaning of the word because, or to show some type of time, on the other hand, the sense is used to indicate the five traditionally recognized senses of sight, smell, hearing, taste, and feel.
Comparison Chart
| Basis | Since | Sense |
| Definition | The word since acts as a preposition, conjunction, and adverb and is used for demonstrating the time. | The sense is a noun or verb that refers to the perceived ability to live organisms like the five senses of sight, touch, hear, taste, and smell. |
| Origin | 1400-1450 | 1350-1400 |
| Meaning | From a particular time in the past until now or later, because of | Ability to understand, feel, recognize something |
| Synonyms | Because, as long as, seeing, whereas, as | Perception, sensation, feeling, awareness, and consciousness |
| Antonyms | Before, until, earlier | Imprudence, indiscretion, unaware, heedlessness |
What is Since?
The term since means from then, up till now or time which occurs between then and now, before now. First, it has originated from the Latin language and later it has transferred to the English language, whereas the grammatical English language word is originated in between 1400-1450. Moreover, according to the oxford dictionary since is one of the top one thousand most frequently used words.
However, the term since is used to indicate the time period as an adverb whereas it can be used as a preposition or conjunction. Moreover, as a conjunction it is used to indicate a cause; in other words, we can say since is similar to the conjunction “because”. Some examples are given below
Since as conjunction (because)
- Since I have been working here for two days, may I leave now?
- He went to the house since he completed his work.
Since as an adverb (time)
- Sara has been playing scramble since she was seven years old so that she would get the first position in the competition.
- It has been five years since I went to my home last time.
Since as a preposition
- They have been playing since morning.
- She has become famous since her exhibition.
What is Sense?
The term sense has originated between 1350-1400; first, it was introduced in the old French language as ‘sens’, but after passing through some stages of modification, it changes into ‘sense’.
Sense as a noun can be defined as an ability due to which the body perceives an external stimulus as it refers to the five senses of sight, hear, feel, taste and smell.
As a noun, sense means something that you can feel but is not physical. Some best examples are a sense of hunger, a sense of being watched, or a sense of belonging and as a verb, sense means to be able to feel these things, can be physical or emotional for example sense movement from the corner of your eye.
Sense as a noun
- I wish my sense of smell is better right now; that curry looks so yummy!
- The tall walls around the house give a sense of security.
Sense as a verb
- I sensed the real meaning of her phone call.
- Daniel sensed something wrong, so he gathered up all things and left the building right away.
Key Differences between Since and Sense
- Since is mostly used as an adverb of time but can also be used as a preposition or conjunction, on the other side, sense can be used as a noun and verb.
- The term sense was originated between 1350-1400, whereas, the word since was originated in 1400-1450.
- Since indicates a time period, whereas, sense indicates the ability due to which the body perceives an external stimulus.
- Since and sense are homophones, which can sound the same, but both have different meanings.
- The term since means from then until now or time occurs between then and now, on the other hand, the term sense means one of the bodily faculties that gathers information from the surroundings and relays it to the brain.
Comparison Video
Conclusion
However, it is not so difficult to distinguish the differences between since and sense, as the main key difference is that since is mainly used as an adverb about time, on the other side; sense can be used as a noun or a verb. Moreover, these two words are usually misused by some English learners. In a nutshell, sense refers to the five basic human senses which are taste, touch, smell, sight, hear whereas, since is an adverb of time.