sentient

sentient
    adj 1: endowed with feeling and unstructured consciousness; "the
           living knew themselves just sentient puppets on God's
           stage"- T.E.Lawrence [syn: {sentient}, {animate}] [ant:
           {insensate}, {insentient}]
    2: consciously perceiving; "sentient of the intolerable load";
       "a boy so sentient of his surroundings"- W.A.White
    

Sentient \Sen"ti*ent\, a. [L. sentiens, -entis, p. pr. of
   sentire to discern or perceive by the senses. See {Sense}.]
   Having a faculty, or faculties, of sensation and perception.
   Specif. (Physiol.), especially sensitive; as, the sentient
   extremities of nerves, which terminate in the various organs
   or tissues.
   [1913 Webster]
    

Sentient \Sen"ti*ent\, n.
   One who has the faculty of perception; a sentient being.
   [1913 Webster]
    

26 Moby Thesaurus words for "sentient":
      alive, alive to, au courant, awake, aware, cognizant, conscious,
      conversant, emotionable, feeling, impressible, impressionable,
      impressive, knowing, open, perceptive, reactive, receptive,
      responsive, sensible, sensile, sensitive, sensitive to,
      susceptible, susceptive, witting