The expression "in the sense of" modern people often use as a question or part of an explanation. In the first case, it is used as a replacement for the phrase "sorry, I did not quite understand you." In the second, it is an analogue of the words “because ...” or “due to the fact that ...” After a simple morphological analysis, we can make sure that the origin of the main word comes from “thought”. Native “great mighty” should not be used thoughtlessly. Otherwise, it’s possible to get to the “type died, the type alive” ...
Counter question
One example. A young man comes up to the girl and asks if she can meet her. "In terms of?" - She answers the question with a question. Despite all the brevity, these words contain a rather large amount of information (as they say now, “tons”). Firstly, the lady is not against dating, otherwise the answer would be even more brief. Secondly, she is interested in the goals of the young (or not so) creation of the opposite sex. Are they kind and in what sense ... Thirdly, the girl is interested in what will follow the acquaintance, where are they going to invite her (otherwise the question is simply empty and does not deserve even air shaking with sounds). It is possible that there are other semantic nuances of this expression, since it is very short, like words from some oriental languages, the translation of which depends on intonation, tonality and articulation. One can only guess about them.
Explanatory meaning
Another example. “I won’t go to work tomorrow!” - says an employee to a colleague. “I mean, I don't feel very well,” he continues. This use of the expression illustrates its explanatory function. However, they said so earlier, for example, “outstanding people in the sense of a strong character,” that is, because of this. Or here is a well-known gloomy joke in which a passenger, offended by the silence of a compartment neighbor, grabs his shoulder and discovers that he is dead. “Ah, you in that sense ...” he mutters, puzzled.
Hints and half-hints
The use of allegories, colorful comparisons, hyperbolas and parabolas does not always make speech more understandable, despite the brilliance of oratorical techniques. Unnecessary questions follow, phrases are interpreted ambiguously, and sometimes their informative content is interpreted completely differently than the speaker intended. It is important to remember what “in the direct sense” means, that is, literally. This is a phrase construction that does not imply any ambiguity. Not everyone clearly speaks the art of speaking, and politicians sometimes specially “let the fog go”. It's a pity.