sensitive plant

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noun

Also called humble plant. a tropical American plant, Mimosa pudica, cultivated in greenhouses, having bipinnate leaves whose leaflets fold together when touched.

any of various other plants that are sensitive to touch.

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Origin of sensitive plant

First recorded in 1650–60

Words nearby sensitive plant

sensible perspiration, sensillum, sensitive, sensitive fern, sensitiveness, sensitive plant, sensitivity, sensitivity group, sensitivity training, sensitization, sensitize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use sensitive plant in a sentence

In the immediate area, where temperatures stayed above freezing last night, you might want to take some effort to keep any sensitive plants safe yet again.
PM Update: Another frosty night, and a chilly Thursday despite sunshine|Ian Livingston|November 3, 2021|Washington Post
Increased human numbers can also turn up noise levels, which can disturb wildlife, and wayward trampling that can squash sensitive plants.
National Parks are logging record crowds. Here’s how to visit safely.|Ula Chrobak|October 15, 2020|Popular-Science
His most recommended plant was tree ivy—its juices sprayed up the nostrils.
History's Craziest Hangover Cures|Justin Jones|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And the Gävle Goat, apparently a sensitive creature, took the destruction hard.
Sweden’s Burning Christmas Goat|Nina Strochlic|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The expo is introduced by Mayor Anne Hildalgo, who describes it as a “sensitive reading of the upheavals in French society.”
A History of Paris in 150 Photographs|Sarah Moroz|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But they are also sensitive to pressure and attention from the West.
The Straight Hero of Cameroon’s Gays|Jay Michaelson|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was Petr Miller, a forgeman from the Prague ČKD plant.
How Havel Inspired the Velvet Revolution|Michael Zantovsky|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As there are still many varieties of the plant grown in America, so there doubtless was when cultivated by the Indians.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
The plant as a whole remains green until late in the autumn.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
The Smooth Naked Horsetail is a common plant, specially by the sides of streams and pools.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
The relation existing between the balmy plant and the commerce of the world is of the strongest kind.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Tobacco is a strong growing plant resisting heat and drought to a far (p. 018) greater extent than most plants.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.

British Dictionary definitions for sensitive plant

sensitive plant

noun

a tropical American mimosa plant, Mimosa pudica, the leaflets and stems of which fold if touched

any similar plant, such as the leguminous plant Cassia nictitans of E North America

informal a person who is easily upset

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