sensitive
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle French sensitif, from Medieval Latin sensitivus.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: sĕn'sĭtĭv, IPA(key): /ˈsɛnsɪtɪv/
Audio (Southern England): (file) Audio (General American): (file) - (pin–pen merger) IPA(key): /ˈsɪnsɪtɪv/
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This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready. Particularly: "pin-pen" |
- Hyphenation: sen‧sit‧ive
Adjective
sensitive (comparative more sensitive, superlative most sensitive)
- Having the faculty of sensation; pertaining to the senses.
- 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition III, section 1, member 2, subsection i:
- The sensitive faculty most part overrules reason, the soul is carried hoodwinked, and the understanding captive like a beast.
- Responsive to stimuli.
- 1947 January and February, O. S. Nock, “"The Aberdonian" in Wartime”, in Railway Magazine, page 9:
- The engine seemed a little sensitive to wet rails, and in consequence the uphill work was not so good north of Dundee as it had been earlier. But I have noted this same "touchiness" on the part of the "A4s", and other modern British 4-6-2s, so that in this respect No. 2006 proved no exception.
- (of a person) Easily offended, upset, or hurt.
- Max is very sensitive; he cried today because of the bad news.
- (of an issue, topic, etc.) Capable of offending, upsetting, or hurting.
- Religion is often a sensitive topic of discussion and should be avoided when dealing with foreign business associates.
- Meant to be concealed or kept secret.
- These are highly sensitive documents.
- 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel:
- Xeltan: I cannot speak more about this problem; it is too sensitive. Suffice it to say, she has compromised my authority as a diplomat.
- Being aware of the feelings of others and taking care not to offend them.
- Thank you for being sensitive.
- Important, intricate, and requiring great delicacy.
- The president's untimely statement disrupted some very sensitive negotiations.
- (of an instrument) Accurate; able to register small changes in some property.
- (archaic) Having paranormal abilities that can be controlled through mesmerism.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Hyponyms
Derived terms
- barosensitive
- case sensitive
- chemosensitive
- cold-sensitive
- context-sensitive
- cryosensitive
- ecosensitive
- electrosensitive
- extrasensitive
- hemosensitive
- highly sensitive person
- hydrosensitive
- hygrosensitive
- hyposensitive
- immunosensitive
- magnetosensitive
- mechanosensitive
- metabosensitive
- meteorosensitive
- morphosensitive
- osmosensitive
- oversensitive
- pansensitive
- pharmacosensitive
- phosphosensitive
- photosensitive
- piezosensitive
- pseudosensitive
- psychrosensitive
- psychrosensitive
- radiosensitive
- Sensex
- sensitive fern
- sensitively
- sensitiveness
- sensitive pea
- sensitivity
- sensitivize
- sensitize
- serosensitive
- somatosensitive
- subsensitive
- supersensitive
- thermohygrosensitive
- thermosensitive
- triplosensitive
- ultrasensitive
- undersensitive
- unsensitive
- viscerosensitive
Related terms
Translations
having the faculty of sensation; pertaining to the senses
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responsive to stimuli
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easily offended
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capable of offending
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accurate
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Noun
sensitive (plural sensitives)
- A person with a paranormal sensitivity to something that most cannot perceive.
- 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 72:
- [I]t is quite certain that many of their fears were unfounded, and centred upon perfectly innocent people - especially those who were what we now call "mediumistic" or "sensitives".
- 2003, Frederic W.H. Myers, Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death Part 2:
- Swedenborg was one of the leading savants of Europe; it would be absurd to place any of our sensitives on the same intellectual level.
Pronunciation
Adjective
sensitive
Noun
sensitive f (plural sensitives)
Further reading
- “sensitive”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
Adjective
sensitive f pl
Anagrams
Adjective
sēnsitīve
Adjective
sensitive
Adjective
sensitive
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