An apparatus and method directed to a solid-state capacitance sensor for measuring a strain force on a dielectric having a corresponding dielectric constant includes at least one pair of electrodes disposed so as to interface with the dielectric. The sensor preferably includes a measuring circuit coupled to the electrodes to measure a change in the dielectric constant in response to the force. In operation, the change in the dielectric constant is caused by an electrostrictive response of the dielectric upon deformation. Preferably, the response is quantified by computing a change in the dielectric constant based on a measured change in capacitance. The electrodes may be fixed to the dielectric, and the measuring circuit determines the change in the dielectric constant by measuring a change in capacitance between the pair of electrodes and then computing the change in the dielectric constant. The force can then be computed based on both the change in dielectric constant and the electrostriction parameters associated with the dielectric.