sensitize
[ sen-si-tahyz ]
/ ˈsɛn sɪˌtaɪz /
verb (used with object), sen·si·tized, sen·si·tiz·ing.
to render sensitive.
Photography. to render (a film or the like) sensitive to light or other forms of radiant energy.
Immunology. to render sensitive to an antigenic substance.
verb (used without object), sen·si·tized, sen·si·tiz·ing.
to become sensitized.
Nearby words
Also especially British, sen·si·tise.
Origin of sensitize
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for sensitize
Use unglazed writing-paper, and sensitize a strip at the top a little larger than the picture to be printed on it.
To sensitize the plates I employ a bath of bichromate of potash of six per cent, and again dry them.
To sensitize, immerse the silk in a 20 grain solution of silver nitrate for about sixteen minutes.
Photographic Amusements, Ninth Edition|Walter E. Woodbury and Frank R. Fraprie
British Dictionary definitions for sensitize
sensitize
sensitise
/ (ˈsɛnsɪˌtaɪz) /
verb
to make or become sensitive
(tr) to render (an individual) sensitive to a drug, allergen, etc
(tr) photog to make (a material) sensitive to light or to other actinic radiation, esp to light of a particular colour, by coating it with a photographic emulsion often containing special chemicals, such as dyes
Derived Formssensitization or sensitisation, nounsensitizer or sensitiser, 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 sensitize
sensitize
1856, in photography; see sensitive + -ize. Of persons from 1880. Related: Sensitized; sensitizing.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for sensitize
sensitize
[ sĕn′sĭ-tīz′ ]
v.
To make hypersensitive or reactive to an antigen, such as pollen, especially by repeated exposure.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.