susceptibility

American  

[suh-sep-tuh-bil-i-tee] / səˌsɛp təˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

plural

susceptibilities

1. state or character of being susceptible.

   susceptibility to disease.

2. capacity for receiving mental or moral impressions; tendency to be emotionally affected.

3. susceptibilities, capacities for emotion; feelings.

   His susceptibilities are easily wounded.

4. Electricity.

   1. electric susceptibility.

   2. magnetic susceptibility.

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susceptibility British  

/ səˌsɛptəˈbɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. the quality or condition of being susceptible

2. the ability or tendency to be impressed by emotional feelings; sensitivity

3. (plural) emotional sensibilities; feelings

4. physics

   1. Also called: electric susceptibility.   Χ.  (of a dielectric) the amount by which the relative permittivity differs from unity

   2.  Κ.  Also called: magnetic susceptibility.  (of a magnetic medium) the amount by which the relative permeability differs from unity

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Related Words

See sensibility.

Other Word Forms

• nonsusceptibility
  noun
• oversusceptibility
  noun
• presusceptibility
  noun
• unsusceptibility
  noun

Etymology

Origin of susceptibility

First recorded in 1635–45; from Medieval Latin susceptibilitās, equivalent to susceptibilis(is) susceptible + -itās- -ity

Explanation

Susceptibility is a tendency to be affected by something. Some people have a greater susceptibility to colds than others. A susceptibility is a type of weakness, but a particular kind. If your knee keeps getting injured, you may have a susceptibility to knee problems. If alcoholism runs in your family, you probably have a susceptibility to being an alcoholic yourself. Some people have a susceptibility to spending a lot of money or eating too much. When you have a susceptibility, there's something you can't resist or can't fight off.

Example Sentences

He points to California’s Landslide Susceptibility map, which shows almost the entire peninsula as highly susceptible.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 13, 2023

Susceptibility might come from a perceived grievance — something they believe is unfair in their life — coupled with past trauma, like being bullied, he said.

From Washington Post • Apr. 3, 2021

Susceptibility to pneumonia is just one of the conditions that will be a lifelong problem for Babb, his mother said.

From Washington Times • May 12, 2017

Susceptibility to cancer is simply the price we pay for being a complex and highly cooperative cellular society.

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2017

Susceptibility to variation is farther modified by the greater or less adaptability of the digestive and locomotive organs to varied kinds of food and habitat.

From The Origin of the World According to Revelation and Science by Dawson, John William