desensitize

[ dee-sen-si-tahyz ]

/ diˈsɛn sɪˌtaɪz /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR desensitize ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

RELATED WORDS

deaden, benumb, numb, anesthetize

Nearby words

deseed, desegregate, desegregation, deselect, desensitization, desensitize, deseret, deserpidine, desert, desert a sinking ship, desert boot

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

Examples from the Web for desensitized

Perhaps they were wary of each other, or too desensitized to connect on any level.
For the Cleveland Kidnapping Victims, a Tragic Sisterhood|Christine Pelisek|May 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In the border region, “drug trafficking is such a normal activity that people are so desensitized to it,” he said.
At Mexican Border, Four in Five Drug Busts Involve American Citizens|Andrew Becker, G. W. Schulz, Tia Ghose|March 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But some do wonder if popular culture has desensitized people to the very real consequences of violence.
After Batman Shooting, Hollywood Looks Within|Lorenza Muñoz|July 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
To me, these are just a bunch of pictures taken by desensitized soldiers screwing around.
My Father’s War Pictures, and Mine|Colby Buzzell|April 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST

How do we take people who are jaded, desensitized, and make them care about crime?
America's Favorite Crime Writer|Daily Beast Promotions|May 26, 2009|DAILY BEAST
His impressions are transferred to the desensitized plate of Mr. Hennessy's mind, where they can do no harm.
Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War|Finley Peter Dunne
Her desensitized and asphalt palate thrills and throbs beneath the tricklings of Cordon Rouge.
Europe After 8:15|H. L. Mencken, George Jean Nathan and Willard Huntington Wright

British Dictionary definitions for desensitized

desensitize

desensitise

/ (diːˈsɛnsɪˌtaɪz) /

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 desensitized

desensitize

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

Medicine definitions for desensitized

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.