desensitization
Americannoun
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the act or process of desensitizing.
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Physiology, Medicine/Medical. the elimination or reduction of natural or acquired reactivity or sensitivity to an external stimulus, as an allergen.
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Psychiatry. a behavior modification technique, used especially in treating phobias, in which panic or other undesirable emotional response to a given stimulus is reduced or extinguished, especially by repeated exposure to that stimulus.
Etymology
Origin of desensitization
First recorded in 1920–25; desensitize + -ation
Vocabulary lists containing desensitization
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dan then proposed a novel therapeutic intervention, a trauma-focused treatment called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
Depression and desensitization are fueled by easy access to the most startling, graphic images one could imagine, all one click away.
From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026
Short selling has become more challenging due to a buoyant stock market, increased litigation risk, and investor desensitization to risk.
From Barron's • Oct. 8, 2025
The “Therapy Dog Team” has been on duty since late February following months of preparation and intensive training, learning desensitization to distracting stimuli, like sounds and people.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 8, 2024
Yet her squirrel desensitization program did not instantly meet with success.
From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
