desensitize

[dee-sen-si-tahyz]

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verb (used with object), de·sen·si·tized, de·sen·si·tiz·ing.

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.

Also especially British, de·sen·si·tise.

Origin of desensitize

First recorded in 1900–05; de- + sensitize

Related formsde·sen·si·tiz·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for desensitize

deaden, benumb, numb, anesthetize

British Dictionary definitions for desensitize

desensitize

desensitise

verb (tr)

to render insensitive or less sensitivethe 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 Formsdesensitization or desensitisation, noundesensitizer 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

Word Origin and History for desensitize

1904; see de- "do the opposite of" + sensitize. Originally of photography development; psychological sense is first recorded 1935. Related: Desensitized; desensitizing.

desensitize in Medicine

desensitize

[dē-sĕn′sĭ-tīz′]

v.

To render insensitive or less sensitive, as a nerve or tooth.

To make an individual nonreactive or insensitive to an antigen.

To make a person emotionally insensitive or unresponsive, as by long exposure or repeated shocks.