Library / English Dictionary

SENSITIZATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Rendering an organism sensitive to a serum by a series of injections

Synonyms:

sensitisation; sensitising; sensitization; sensitizing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

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

immunisation; immunization (the act of making immune (especially by inoculation))

Derivation:

sensitize (make sensitive to a drug or allergen)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(psychology) the process of becoming highly sensitive to specific events or situations (especially emotional events or situations)

Synonyms:

sensitisation; sensitization

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

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

physical process; process (a sustained phenomenon or one marked by gradual changes through a series of states)

Domain category:

psychological science; psychology (the science of mental life)

Derivation:

sensitize (make sensitive or aware)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The state of being sensitive (as to an antigen)

Synonyms:

sensitisation; sensitization

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

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

predisposition; sensitivity (susceptibility to a pathogen)

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

irritation ((pathology) abnormal sensitivity to stimulation)

Credits

 Context examples: 

NDMA receptor antagonists such as amitriptyline and ketamine interfere with the role of NMDA receptors in the process of central sensitization in which NMDA receptors on spinal dorsal horn neurons are activated, resulting in an increase in synaptic efficacy and so an amplification of the response to sensory input.

(Ketamine/Amitriptyline NP-H Cream, NCI Thesaurus)