sensitive

[ sen-si-tiv ]

adjective

1. endowed with sensation; having perception through the senses.
2. readily or excessively affected by external agencies or influences.
3. having acute mental or emotional sensibility; aware of and responsive to the feelings of others.
4. easily pained, annoyed, etc.
5. pertaining to or connected with the senses or sensation.
6. Physiology. having a low threshold of sensation or feeling.
7. responding to stimuli, as leaves that move when touched.
8. highly responsive to certain agents, as photographic plates, films, or paper.
9. affected or likely to be affected by a specified stimulus (used in combination):

   price-sensitive markets.

10. involving work, duties, or information of a highly secret or delicate nature, especially in government:

    a sensitive position in the State Department.

11. requiring tact or caution; delicate; touchy:

    a sensitive topic.

12. constructed to indicate, measure, or be affected by small amounts or changes, as a balance or thermometer.
13. Radio. easily affected by external influences, especially by radio waves.

noun

1. a person who is sensitive.
2. a person with psychic powers; medium.

sensitive

/ ˈsɛnsɪtɪv /

adjective

1. having the power of sensation
2. responsive to or aware of feelings, moods, reactions, etc
3. easily irritated; delicate

   sensitive skin

4. affected by external conditions or stimuli
5. easily offended
6. of or relating to the senses or the power of sensation
7. capable of registering small differences or changes in amounts, quality, etc

   a sensitive instrument

8. photog having a high sensitivity

   a sensitive emulsion

9. connected with matters affecting national security, esp through access to classified information
10. (of a stock market or prices) quickly responsive to external influences and thus fluctuating or tending to fluctuate

Derived Forms

• ˈsensitively, adverb
• ˈsensitiveness, noun

Other Words From

• sensi·tive·ly adverb
• non·sensi·tive adjective
• non·sensi·tive·ly adverb
• non·sensi·tive·ness noun
• ultra·sensi·tive adjective
• ultra·sensi·tive·ly adverb
• un·sensi·tive adjective
• un·sensi·tive·ly adverb
• un·sensi·tive·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sensitive¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Medieval Latin sēnsitīvus, irregular formation from Latin sēns(us) “felt” (past participle of sentīre “to feel”) + -īvus -ive; replacing Middle English sensitif(e), from Middle French sensitif, sensitive, from Medieval Latin, as above; sense

Word History and Origins

Origin of sensitive¹

C14: from Medieval Latin sēnsitīvus, from Latin sentīre to feel

Example Sentences

A 2023 report by Duke University revealed that data brokers were selling sensitive data on individuals’ mental health conditions on the open market.

From Los Angeles Times

They are never easy, but for Beauvais, public conversations about sensitive subjects have become par for the course.

From Los Angeles Times

A concern is that brine has more saline than seawater, giving it the potential to disrupt marine life in sensitive areas.

From Science Daily

Turns out that the alluring woman gracing the book’s cover is the same one who appears in these pages: intelligent, sensitive and engaging.

From Los Angeles Times

And me being human and sensitive, I shared something that I think is part of the little girl in me.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• conscious
• delicate
• emotional
• hypersensitive
• keen
• nervous
• perceptive
• precise
• receptive
• responsive
• susceptible
• tense
• touchy
• tricky
• unstable