desensitize
to lessen the sensitiveness of.
to make indifferent, unaware, or the like, in feeling.
Photography. to make less sensitive or wholly insensitive to light, as the emulsion on a film.
Printing. to treat (the design on a lithographic plate) with an etch in order to increase the capacity to retain moisture, and to remove traces of grease.
Chemistry. to reduce the sensitivity of (an explosive) to those stimuli capable of detonating it.
Origin of desensitize
1- Also especially British, de·sen·si·tise .
Other words from desensitize
- de·sen·si·tiz·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for desensitize
desensitise
/ (diːˈsɛnsɪˌtaɪz) /
to render insensitive or less sensitive: the patient was desensitized to the allergen; to desensitize photographic film
psychol to decrease the abnormal fear in (a person) of a situation or object, by exposing him to it either in reality or in his imagination
Derived forms of desensitize
- desensitization or desensitisation, noun
- desensitizer or desensitiser, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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