sensitive
pronunciation
How to pronounce sensitive in British English:
UK [ˈsensətɪv]
How to pronounce sensitive in American English:
US [ˈsensətɪv]
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- Adjective:
- responsive to physical stimuli
- having acute mental or emotional sensibility
- able to feel or perceive
- hurting
- used officially of classified information or matters affecting national security
Word Origin
- sensitive (adj.)
- late 14c., in reference to the body or its parts, "having the function of sensation;" also (early 15c.) "pertaining to the faculty of the soul that receives and analyzes sensory information;" from Old French sensitif "capable of feeling" (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin sensitivus "capable of sensation," from Latin sensus, past participle of sentire "feel perceive" (see sense (n.)). Meaning "easily affected" (with reference to mental feelings) first recorded 1816; meaning "having intense physical sensation" is from 1849. Original meaning is preserved in sensitive plant (1630s), which is "mechanically irritable in a higher degree than almost any other plant" [Century Dictionary]. Meaning "involving national security" is recorded from 1953. Related: Sensitively; sensitiveness.
Synonym
sympathetic kindly understanding empathetic kind-hearted enlightened kind generous feeling compassionate considerate
keen reactive sentient impressionable susceptible feeling alive sensible perceptive conscious responsive to susceptive acute receptive
easily testy irritable hurt offended impatient thinskinned quick-tempered umbrageous touchy excitable hypersensitive oversensitive ticklish temperamental thin-skinned
Antonym
Example
- 1. Such discussions are sensitive because mr. strauss-kahn hasn 't resigned .
- 2. It is also sensitive to acidity .
- 3. What could such a sensitive force-detector be used for ?
- 4. In truth the other person is your most sensitive self given another body .
- 5. It feared that sensitive financial information could fall into the wrong hands .