sensitivity

[ sen-si-tiv-i-tee ]

noun

, plural sen·si·tiv·i·ties

1. the state or quality of being sensitive; sensitiveness.
2. Physiology.
   1. the ability of an organism or part of an organism to react to stimuli; irritability.
   2. degree of susceptibility to stimulation.
3. Electricity.
   1. the ability of a radio device to react to incoming signals, expressed as the minimum input signal required to produce a specified output signal with a given noise level.
   2. the input, as voltage, current, or the like, required to produce full deflection in an electric measuring device, expressed as the ratio of the response to the magnitude of the input quantity.

sensitivity

/ ˌsɛnsɪˈtɪvɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state or quality of being sensitive
2. physiol the state, condition, or quality of reacting or being sensitive to an external stimulus, drug, allergen, etc
3. electronics the magnitude or time of response of an instrument, circuit, etc, to an input signal, such as a current
4. photog the degree of response of an emulsion to light or other actinic radiation, esp to light of a particular colour, expressed in terms of its speed

Other Words From

• anti·sensi·tivi·ty noun plural antisensitivities adjective
• nonsen·si·tivi·ty noun plural nonsensitivities

Word History and Origins

Origin of sensitivity¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; sensitive + -ity

Synonym Study

See sensibility.

Example Sentences

"Though we got off to a rocky start, as I came to know and feel him I saw his enormous potential and sensitivity as an artist and as a human being," Quincy Jones wrote.

From BBC

“He has a listening sensitivity that allows him to not only play beautifully every time out, but to make the musicians around him become the beneficiaries of his musical wisdom.”

From Los Angeles Times

He was gifted with a superhuman taste sensitivity: He could easily distinguish a flavor at one ten thousandth of a gram in a fifteen ton batch.

From Salon

"It's worrying because of the sensitivity of the data," says Carissa Veliz, author of Privacy is Power.

From BBC

Since the early 1990s, Gilmour’s frequent lyrical collaborator has been wife Polly Sampson, whose sensitivity and topicality often reveals a heart-rending reality that’s never heavy-handed.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• awareness
• feeling
• nervousness
• sense
• subtlety
• sympathy