susceptibility

[suh-sep-tuh-bil-i-tee]

noun

plural

susceptibilities 

1. state or character of being susceptible.

   susceptibility to disease.

2. capacity for receiving mental or moral impressions; tendency to be emotionally affected.

3. susceptibilities, capacities for emotion; feelings.

   His susceptibilities are easily wounded.

4. Electricity.

   1. electric susceptibility.

   2. magnetic susceptibility.

susceptibility

/ səˌsɛptəˈbɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. the quality or condition of being susceptible

2. the ability or tendency to be impressed by emotional feelings; sensitivity

3. (plural) emotional sensibilities; feelings

4. physics

   1. Also called: electric susceptibility.  Χ. (of a dielectric) the amount by which the relative permittivity differs from unity

   2. Κ. Also called: magnetic susceptibility. (of a magnetic medium) the amount by which the relative permeability differs from unity

Other Word Forms

• nonsusceptibility noun
• oversusceptibility noun
• presusceptibility noun
• unsusceptibility noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of susceptibility¹

First recorded in 1635–45; from Medieval Latin susceptibilitās, equivalent to susceptibilis(is) susceptible + -itās- -ity

Synonym Study

See sensibility.

Example Sentences

The new findings show that human susceptibility to lead may be deeply rooted in our evolutionary past and shaped by interactions between genes and environmental conditions.

Read more on Science Daily

"How many people carry variants in this gene and is there a susceptibility to deafness or age-dependent hearing loss?" she said.

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Other research, the study noted, has found “greater male susceptibility to cortical atrophy and neuroinflammation under stress, which aligns with our findings of heightened pandemic-related brain aging in males.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

One issue that has emerged as women's sport has been given more attention is a difference in the susceptibility to some injuries.

Read more on BBC

Everyone sounds too smart to be prone to error, although Sevigny comes closest, embodying someone in a precarious state of emotional susceptibility, whose obvious intelligence hides unspoken wounds.

Read more on Los Angeles Times