Library / English Dictionary

SENSITIVITY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The ability to respond to affective changes in your interpersonal environment

Synonyms:

sensitiveness; sensitivity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("sensitivity" is a kind of...):

ability (the quality of being able to perform; a quality that permits or facilitates achievement or accomplishment)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sensitivity"):

antenna; feeler (sensitivity similar to that of a receptor organ)

defensiveness (excessive sensitivity to criticism)

perceptiveness (the quality of insight and sympathetic understanding)

Antonym:

insensitivity (the inability to respond to affective changes in your interpersonal environment)

Derivation:

sensitive (being susceptible to the attitudes, feelings, or circumstances of others)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The ability to respond to physical stimuli or to register small physical amounts or differences

Example:

the sensitiveness of Mimosa leaves does not depend on a change of growth

Synonyms:

sensitiveness; sensitivity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("sensitivity" is a kind of...):

physical property (any property used to characterize matter and energy and their interactions)

Attribute:

sensitive (responsive to physical stimuli)

insensitive (not responsive to physical stimuli)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sensitivity"):

frequency response ((electronics) a curve representing the output-to-input ratio of a transducer as a function of frequency)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(physiology) responsiveness to external stimuli; the faculty of sensation

Example:

sensitivity to pain

Synonyms:

sensibility; sensitiveness; sensitivity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("sensitivity" is a kind of...):

sensation; sense; sensory faculty; sentience; sentiency (the faculty through which the external world is apprehended)

Domain category:

physiology (the branch of the biological sciences dealing with the functioning of organisms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sensitivity"):

photosensitivity; radiosensitivity (sensitivity to the action of radiant energy)

interoception (sensitivity to stimuli originating inside of the body)

exteroception (sensitivity to stimuli originating outside of the body)

reactivity; responsiveness (responsive to stimulation)

hypersensitivity (extreme sensitivity)

acuteness (a sensitivity that is keen and highly developed)

Derivation:

sensitive (hurting)

sensitive (responsive to physical stimuli)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Sensitivity to emotional feelings (of self and others)

Synonyms:

sensitiveness; sensitivity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("sensitivity" is a kind of...):

feeling (the experiencing of affective and emotional states)

Attribute:

insensitive (deficient in human sensibility; not mentally or morally sensitive)

sensitive (being susceptible to the attitudes, feelings, or circumstances of others)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sensitivity"):

oversensitiveness (sensitivity leading to easy irritation or upset)

sensibility (refined sensitivity to pleasurable or painful impressions)

feelings (emotional or moral sensitivity (especially in relation to personal principles or dignity))

Derivation:

sensitive (being susceptible to the attitudes, feelings, or circumstances of others)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Susceptibility to a pathogen

Synonyms:

predisposition; sensitivity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("sensitivity" is a kind of...):

susceptibility; susceptibleness (the state of being susceptible; easily affected)

Attribute:

sensitising; sensitizing (making susceptible or sensitive to either physical or emotional stimuli)

desensitising; desensitizing (making less susceptible or sensitive to either physical or emotional stimuli)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sensitivity"):

habitus (person's predisposition to be affected by something (as a disease))

sensitisation; sensitization (the state of being sensitive (as to an antigen))

hypersensitivity (pathological sensitivity)

diathesis (constitutional predisposition to a particular disease or abnormality)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Mutation of the gene is associated with decreased sensitivity to the cytosine arabinoside that is used in the treatment of certain childhood leukemias.

(CDA wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

CD4 enhances T-cell sensitivity to antigen and binds to LCK, which phosphorylates CD3-zeta.

(CD4 Antigen, NCI Thesaurus)

Any technique in which a sample is condensed in order to afford greater sensitivity for the detection of microorganisms.

(Microbial Concentration Method, NCI Thesaurus)

Experiments revealed that the morphine-induced pain sensitivity depended on the activation of an inflammasome protein called NLRP3 in microglia.

(Opioid Pain Relievers May Prolong Pain, NIH)

The samples contained less organic matter than expected, but, at the time, the team lacked tools with enough sensitivity to measure specific biomarkers.

(Clues found on how soils may respond to climate change, National Science Foundation)

Increased sensitivity of the skin to ultraviolet light exposure.

(Photosensitivity, NCI Thesaurus)

To boost sensitivity, the biosensors need a power supply.

(New Type of Battery Created from Paper, Fueled by Bacteria, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

They mapped a new, more accurate dataset, and compared the result to that yielded by more common, lower-sensitivity methods.

(Study reveals new patterns of key ocean nutrient, National Science Foundation)

A disorder characterized by an increase in sensitivity of the skin to light.

(Photosensitivity, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)

Now, however, ALMA's sensitivity has enabled astronomers to determine the distance of MAMBO-9.

(ALMA spots most distant dusty galaxy hidden in plain sight, National Science Foundation)