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definitions

hypersensitive

[hahy-per-sen-si-tiv]
See more synonyms for hypersensitive on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. excessively sensitive: to be hypersensitive to criticism.
  2. allergic to a substance to which persons do not normally react.

Origin of hypersensitive

First recorded in 1870–75; hyper- + sensitive
Related formshy·per·sen·si·tive·ness, hy·per·sen·si·tiv·i·ty, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for hypersensitive

tricky, precise, tense, keen, susceptible, nervous, receptive, conscious, touchy, perceptive, unstable, delicate, responsive, emotional, hypersensitive, impatient, mercurial, petulant, ornery, capricious

Examples from the Web for hypersensitive

Contemporary Examples of hypersensitive

Historical Examples of hypersensitive

  • It was no time for Clancy to be hypersensitive about Vandervent's honor.

    Find the Woman

    Arthur Somers Roche

  • A conscience newly aroused by her terrible tragedy and hypersensitive?

    Clark's Field

    Robert Herrick

  • He is hypersensitive and emotional, not argumentative and judicial.

  • Radowitz, in all matters connected with money, was hypersensitive and touchy.

    Lady Connie

    Mrs. Humphry Ward

  • The bald stubby man waddling forward looked neither calloused nor hypersensitive.

British Dictionary definitions for hypersensitive

hypersensitive

adjective
  1. having unduly vulnerable feelings
  2. abnormally sensitive to an allergen, a drug, or other agent
Derived Formshypersensitiveness or hypersensitivity, 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 hypersensitive
adj.

1827, a hybrid from hyper- + sensitive. Related: Hypersensitivity.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
hypersensitive in Medicine

hypersensitive

[hī′pər-sĕn′sĭ-tĭv]
adj.
  1. Responding excessively to the stimulus of a foreign agent, such as an allergen; abnormally sensitive.
Related formshy′per•sen′si•tive•ness null n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.