The most common meaning of the adjective sensible is practical, reasonable, having (or showing) good sense or sound judgment.

The most common meanings of the adjective sensitive are easily hurt or offended, highly perceptive, quick to respond to slight changes or differences, and concerned with secret or delicate matters.

See also: Sensual and Sensuous.

Examples:

• Sticking to a sensible diet plan ensures that the weight will stay off.

• Children on drugs often leave clues, and sensible parents will investigate when their suspicions are aroused.
• An extremely sensitive person can have a severe reaction to the small amount of milk protein in a candy bar.
• Sensitive medical equipment requires an uninterrupted supply of power.
• A reporter at the Washington Post gained access to several highly sensitive CIA documents.

Usage Notes:

• "A sensible person has good sense and judgment; a sensitive one has sensitivity, that is, delicate feelings. Sensitive (to) means readily affected (by), often in the sense of being easily hurt, and aware of, responsive to (feelings, etc.)."
  (B.A. Phythian, A Concise Dictionary of Confusables. John Wiley & Sons, 1990)
• "A sensible person has 'common sense,' and does not make stupid decisions.

  'I want to buy that dress.' 'Be sensible, dear. You haven't got that much money.'

  A sensitive person feels things easily or deeply, and may be easily hurt.

  Don't shout at her--she's very sensitive.
  Have you got a sun cream for sensitive skin?

  Note that sensible is a 'false friend'--similar words in some languages mean 'sensitive.'"
  (Michael Swan, Practical English Usage. Oxford University Press, 1995)

• "The adjective sensitive is followed by the preposition to in the sense 'affected by': He is too sensitive to criticism, and by about in the sense 'self-conscious': She is very sensitive about her large nose."
  (Martin Manser, Good Word Guide, 7th ed. Bloomsbury, 2011)

Practice Exercises:

(a) The device was so _____ that a sneeze could shut it down.

(b) The most _____ way to resolve a family problem is by open discussion.

(c) The government considered the information too _____ to share with other countries, even though it had been lying around for months in computers, briefcases, and flash drives.

Answers to Practice Exercises

Glossary of Usage: Index of Commonly Confused Words