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Synonyms

hypersensitivity

Cultural  

  1. An excessive or abnormal sensitivity to a substance. A person who is hypersensitive to a certain drug will often suffer a severe allergic reaction (see allergy) if given the drug.

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.

Mr. Guadagnino also indulges a couple of speeches about young people’s alleged hypersensitivity that veer into trite middle-aged lament and aren’t really relevant to the action.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025

"Even if you don't directly feed pigeons, their droppings on window sills and balconies can cause hypersensitivity pneumonitis," he said.

From BBC • Aug. 17, 2025

Food allergy symptoms that are not mediated by IgE are usually delayed reactions and called food intolerances or hypersensitivity.

From Salon • May 9, 2024

Now, scientists are linking this hypersensitivity to specific inflammatory chemicals and receptors on airway nerves.

From National Geographic • Jan. 25, 2024

In both types of spinal degeneration, they saw a strong association between the presence of senescent osteoclasts and the degree of degeneration and spine hypersensitivity.

From Science Daily • Nov. 14, 2023

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.