habituation

[ huh-bich-oo-ey-shuhn ]
See synonyms for habituation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act of habituating.

  2. the condition of being habituated.

  1. physiological tolerance to or psychological dependence on a drug, short of addiction.

  2. reduction of psychological or behavioral response occurring when a specific stimulus occurs repeatedly.

Origin of habituation

1
1400–50; late Middle English. See habituate, -ion

Words Nearby habituation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use habituation in a sentence

  • Nailing shingles on a roof illustrates well the various aspects of habituation.

    The Science of Human Nature | William Henry Pyle
  • Even Mrs. Fenwick's habituation to her daughter's incisive method is no proof against this.

    Somehow Good | William de Morgan
  • Other things being equal, the longer and more unbroken the habituation, the more legitimate is the canon of taste in question.

British Dictionary definitions for habituation

habituation

/ (həˌbɪtjʊˈeɪʃən) /


noun
  1. the act or process of habituating

  2. psychol the temporary waning of an innate response that occurs when it is elicited many times in succession: Compare extinction (def. 6)

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

Scientific definitions for habituation

habituation

[ hə-bĭch′ōō-āshən ]


  1. The gradual decline of a response to a stimulus resulting from repeated exposure to the stimulus.

  2. Physiological tolerance for a drug resulting from repeated use.

  1. Psychological dependence on a drug resulting from repeated use.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.