sensitive
readily or excessively affected by external agencies or influences.
having acute mental or emotional sensibility; aware of and responsive to the feelings of others.
easily pained, annoyed, etc.
Physiology. having a low threshold of sensation or feeling.
responding to stimuli, as leaves that move when touched.
highly responsive to certain agents, as photographic plates, films, or paper.
affected or likely to be affected by a specified stimulus (used in combination): price-sensitive markets.
involving work, duties, or information of a highly secret or delicate nature, especially in government: a sensitive position in the State Department.
requiring tact or caution; delicate; touchy: a sensitive topic.
constructed to indicate, measure, or be affected by small amounts or changes, as a balance or thermometer.
Radio. easily affected by external influences, especially by radio waves.
a person who is sensitive.
a person with psychic powers; medium.
Origin of sensitive
1Other words from sensitive
- sen·si·tive·ly, adverb
- non·sen·si·tive, adjective
- non·sen·si·tive·ly, adverb
- non·sen·si·tive·ness, noun
- ul·tra·sen·si·tive, adjective
- ul·tra·sen·si·tive·ly, adverb
- un·sen·si·tive, adjective
- un·sen·si·tive·ly, adverb
- un·sen·si·tive·ness, noun
Words Nearby sensitive
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use sensitive in a sentence
And the Gävle Goat, apparently a sensitive creature, took the destruction hard.
The expo is introduced by Mayor Anne Hildalgo, who describes it as a “sensitive reading of the upheavals in French society.”
But they are also sensitive to pressure and attention from the West.
It is this very sensitive issue that has galvanized widespread resistance from previously loyal campesinos.
China’s Nicaragua Canal Could Spark a New Central America Revolution | Nina Lakhani | November 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe was highly perceptive and exquisitely sensitive to everything around him.
Stonewall Jackson, VMI’s Most Embattled Professor | S. C. Gwynne | November 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He felt, in his sensitive way, that the two sweet-souled Englishwomen had deepened and sanctified his love for Jean.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. LockeThe eyebrows were low and thick, the upper lip was sensitive, quivering sometimes as she talked, but the lower was firm and full.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonHe was beset by his sensitive dislike to mix in other people's affairs, but almost angrily he overcame it.
Bella Donna | Robert HichensAnd here he might have stopped with safety; but his roused, suspicious, sensitive nature, would not suffer him.
It is a sensitive test, and, when positive, is absolute proof of the presence of blood.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
British Dictionary definitions for sensitive
/ (ˈsɛnsɪtɪv) /
having the power of sensation
responsive to or aware of feelings, moods, reactions, etc
easily irritated; delicate: sensitive skin
affected by external conditions or stimuli
easily offended
of or relating to the senses or the power of sensation
capable of registering small differences or changes in amounts, quality, etc: a sensitive instrument
photog having a high sensitivity: a sensitive emulsion
connected with matters affecting national security, esp through access to classified information
(of a stock market or prices) quickly responsive to external influences and thus fluctuating or tending to fluctuate
Origin of sensitive
1Derived forms of sensitive
- sensitively, adverb
- sensitiveness, 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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