sentience means the state or quality of being sentient; possession of consciousness or sensory awareness. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 75 out of 100.
sentience is pronounced /ˈsɛn.ʃəns/.
Why “sentience” is a great word
SENTIENCE — [Noun] The capacity for subjective, felt experiences, most fundamentally sensations such as pleasure or pain. From English sentient (from Latin sentiēns, present participle of sentīre, "to feel, sense") + the noun-forming suffix -ence. Formed within English by derivation. Unlike sapience, which denotes wisdom and complex judgment, or consciousness, which often implies a higher order of self-awareness, sentience is the raw, foundational substrate of feeling. It is the earthworm's flinch from a hot touch, the sun-warmed contentment of a basking lizard, the uncomprehending fear in the eyes of a trapped animal—the silent, private proof of a world experienced from within, the minimal fact that ever truly matters.
noun
- The state or quality of being sentient; possession of consciousness or sensory awareness.“For a while I sat quiet, my heart beating. The place was grimly dark. The only light was a faint one from the top of the lamp which threw a white circle on the high ceiling, except the emerald sheen of the shade as the light took its under edges. Even the light only seemed to emphasize the blackness of the shadows. These presently began to seem, as on last night, to have a sentience of their own.”