What does sensitive mean?
Definitions for sensitive
ˈsɛn sɪ tɪvsen·si·tive
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word sensitive.
Princeton's WordNet
medium, spiritualist, sensitiveadjective
someone who serves as an intermediary between the living and the dead
"he consulted several mediums"
sensitiveadjective
responsive to physical stimuli
"a mimosa's leaves are sensitive to touch"; "a sensitive voltmeter"; "sensitive skin"; "sensitive to light"
sensitiveadjective
being susceptible to the attitudes, feelings, or circumstances of others
"sensitive to the local community and its needs"
sensible, sensitiveadjective
able to feel or perceive
"even amoeba are sensible creatures"; "the more sensible parts of the skin"
sensitive, sore, raw, tenderadjective
hurting
"the tender spot on his jaw"
sensitiveadjective
of or pertaining to classified information or matters affecting national security
Wiktionary
sensitivenoun
One with a paranormal sensitivity to something that most cannot perceive.
sensitiveadjective
Having the faculty of sensation; pertaining to the senses.
sensitiveadjective
Responsive to stimuli.
sensitiveadjective
Of a person, easily offended, upset or hurt.
My friend Max is very sensitive; he cried today because of the bad news.
sensitiveadjective
Of an issue, capable of offending, upsetting or hurting.
Religion is often a sensitive topic of discussion and should be avoided when dealing with foreign business associates.
sensitiveadjective
Accurate (instrument)
Etymology: From sensitif, from sensitivus.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Sensitiveadjective
Having sense or perception, but not reason.
Etymology: sensitif, French.
The sensitive faculty may have a sensitive love of some sensitive objects, which though moderated so as not to fall into sin; yet, through the nature of man’s sense, may express itself more sensitively towards that inferior object than towards God: this is a piece of human frailty. Henry Hammond.
All the actions of the sensitive appetite are in painting called passions, because the soul is agitated by them, and because the body suffers and is sensibly altered. Dryden.
Bodies are such as are endued with a vegetative soul, as plants; a sensitive soul, as animals; or a rational soul, as the body of man. John Ray.
ChatGPT
sensitive
Sensitive generally refers to the capacity to respond or detect changes in one's physical or emotional environment. It can relate to being acutely aware of or easily affected by physical sensations, emotions, or the feelings of others. Often, it applies to someone who can quickly perceive or feel, even minor changes or subtle differences. This term can also refer to a topic or issue requiring discretion or tact due to its potential to evoke strong reactions.
Webster Dictionary
Sensitiveadjective
having sense of feeling; possessing or exhibiting the capacity of receiving impressions from external objects; as, a sensitive soul
Sensitiveadjective
having quick and acute sensibility, either to the action of external objects, or to impressions upon the mind and feelings; highly susceptible; easily and acutely affected
Sensitiveadjective
having a capacity of being easily affected or moved; as, a sensitive thermometer; sensitive scales
Sensitiveadjective
readily affected or changed by certain appropriate agents; as, silver chloride or bromide, when in contact with certain organic substances, is extremely sensitive to actinic rays
Sensitiveadjective
serving to affect the sense; sensible
Sensitiveadjective
of or pertaining to sensation; depending on sensation; as, sensitive motions; sensitive muscular motions excited by irritation
Etymology: [F. sensitif. See Sense.]
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms
sensitive
Requiring special protection from disclosure that could cause embarrassment, compromise, or threat to the security of the sponsoring power. May be applied to an agency, installation, person, position, document, material, or activity.
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'sensitive' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2785
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'sensitive' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3992
Adjectives Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'sensitive' in Adjectives Frequency: #372
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
- [["1515","16"],["1572","1"],["1587","12"],["1600","1"],["1607","2"],["1624","1"],["1626","2"],["1635","9"],["1644","1"],["1647","6"],["1648","2"],["1651","4"],["1653","1"],["1655","1"],["1656","13"],["1657","11"],["1658","1"],["1662","1"],["1664","1"],["1667","12"],["1668","3"],["1670","11"],["1672","2"],["1675","6"],["1676","1"],["1677","48"],["1678","6"],["1679","1"],["1680","1"],["1681","4"],["1682","3"],["1683","7"],["1684","4"],["1685","4"],["1686","9"],["1688","15"],["1690","4"],["1691","1"],["1692","1"],["1693","9"],["1694","19"],["1695","4"],["1696","6"],["1698","7"],["1699","7"],["1700","5"],["1701","11"],["1702","9"],["1703","18"],["1704","13"],["1705","16"],["1706","11"],["1707","10"],["1708","2"],["1710","30"],["1711","8"],["1712","14"],["1713","29"],["1714","29"],["1715","7"],["1716","10"],["1717","19"],["1718","12"],["1719","2"],["1720","38"],["1721","12"],["1722","43"],["1723","1"],["1724","22"],["1725","31"],["1726","57"],["1727","22"],["1728","33"],["1729","80"],["1730","14"],["1731","69"],["1732","46"],["1733","31"],["1734","18"],["1735","36"],["1736","13"],["1737","59"],["1738","46"],["1739","18"],["1740","95"],["1741","9"],["1742","56"],["1743","67"],["1744","82"],["1745","70"],["1746","58"],["1747","47"],["1748","71"],["1749","48"],["1750","26"],["1751","53"],["1752","37"],["1753","45"],["1754","200"],["1755","57"],["1756","38"],["1757","106"],["1758","42"],["1759","42"],["1760","49"],["1761","16"],["1762","39"],["1763","51"],["1764","111"],["1765","42"],["1766","84"],["1767","24"],["1768","107"],["1769","79"],["1770","40"],["1771","37"],["1772","34"],["1773","43"],["1774","49"],["1775","67"],["1776","69"],["1777","122"],["1778","46"],["1779","26"],["1780","8"],["1781","37"],["1782","59"],["1783","22"],["1784","25"],["1785","92"],["1786","71"],["1787","42"],["1788","87"],["1789","62"],["1790","118"],["1791","68"],["1792","79"],["1793","97"],["1794","446"],["1795","70"],["1796","559"],["1797","115"],["1798","153"],["1799","225"],["1800","709"],["1801","976"],["1802","227"],["1803","475"],["1804","165"],["1805","251"],["1806","326"],["1807","326"],["1808","370"],["1809","647"],["1810","225"],["1811","357"],["1812","392"],["1813","511"],["1814","358"],["1815","487"],["1816","380"],["1817","542"],["1818","800"],["1819","562"],["1820","763"],["1821","536"],["1822","1135"],["1823","957"],["1824","1495"],["1825","1455"],["1826","1413"],["1827","1223"],["1828","1298"],["1829","1574"],["1830","2761"],["1831","2061"],["1832","1947"],["1833","2036"],["1834","2134"],["1835","2176"],["1836","2966"],["1837","2463"],["1838","2321"],["1839","2927"],["1840","3258"],["1841","3349"],["1842","2661"],["1843","3634"],["1844","3604"],["1845","3966"],["1846","3313"],["1847","3949"],["1848","4122"],["1849","4831"],["1850","6389"],["1851","5756"],["1852","5999"],["1853","7006"],["1854","6806"],["1855","7020"],["1856","7503"],["1857","6716"],["1858","6479"],["1859","7695"],["1860","9825"],["1861","5604"],["1862","4384"],["1863","4837"],["1864","7146"],["1865","6043"],["1866","6749"],["1867","7664"],["1868","8114"],["1869","7664"],["1870","7072"],["1871","8098"],["1872","8471"],["1873","10294"],["1874","9445"],["1875","11427"],["1876","10314"],["1877","9307"],["1878","10503"],["1879","10775"],["1880","13166"],["1881","15312"],["1882","15695"],["1883","17037"],["1884","15386"],["1885","14747"],["1886","12252"],["1887","13747"],["1888","14605"],["1889","13546"],["1890","13850"],["1891","16495"],["1892","16922"],["1893","16176"],["1894","16992"],["1895","17462"],["1896","19658"],["1897","19039"],["1898","18406"],["1899","19584"],["1900","24124"],["1901","22568"],["1902","23897"],["1903","21830"],["1904","22578"],["1905","24712"],["1906","24131"],["1907","23842"],["1908","25795"],["1909","22651"],["1910","24691"],["1911","27235"],["1912","26815"],["1913","25135"],["1914","26426"],["1915","23153"],["1916","21855"],["1917","22909"],["1918","18852"],["1919","21285"],["1920","28882"],["1921","22590"],["1922","27025"],["1923","23509"],["1924","20248"],["1925","21310"],["1926","19667"],["1927","23740"],["1928","23515"],["1929","23792"],["1930","25324"],["1931","26309"],["1932","22423"],["1933","19528"],["1934","24445"],["1935","24598"],["1936","26175"],["1937","29229"],["1938","30707"],["1939","29743"],["1940","27510"],["1941","26509"],["1942","26036"],["1943","22591"],["1944","21055"],["1945","28511"],["1946","31895"],["1947","35778"],["1948","39392"],["1949","44117"],["1950","41648"],["1951","42675"],["1952","41094"],["1953","44258"],["1954","46615"],["1955","49053"],["1956","49794"],["1957","53559"],["1958","55506"],["1959","59890"],["1960","68868"],["1961","76278"],["1962","82836"],["1963","86567"],["1964","89829"],["1965","98615"],["1966","100263"],["1967","108656"],["1968","121295"],["1969","119744"],["1970","130232"],["1971","136708"],["1972","142634"],["1973","151683"],["1974","146633"],["1975","146126"],["1976","153196"],["1977","152386"],["1978","159858"],["1979","174745"],["1980","184490"],["1981","185719"],["1982","195922"],["1983","203470"],["1984","219528"],["1985","226716"],["1986","232172"],["1987","236529"],["1988","249338"],["1989","267241"],["1990","286936"],["1991","273932"],["1992","315793"],["1993","299185"],["1994","312376"],["1995","326654"],["1996","330591"],["1997","346965"],["1998","361783"],["1999","370754"],["2000","412809"],["2001","416881"],["2002","472956"],["2003","495778"],["2004","518218"],["2005","516446"],["2006","538109"],["2007","541825"],["2008","557220"]]
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of sensitive in Chaldean Numerology is: 6
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of sensitive in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5
Examples of sensitive in a Sentence
There is accumulating evidence that some people are more sensitive to big life events of all kinds, rather than just vulnerable to bad events.
Something about the stress of teaching may leave teachers more vulnerable to depression, or it may also be that the type of person who becomes a teacher also tends to be more sensitive emotionally, but we haven’t tested that explicitly.
I've had one addict describe it as $5 insanity, they still want to try it because it's so cheap. It gives them heightened awareness. They feel stronger and more sensitive to touch. But then the paranoia sets in.
This was an issue in my [2012] campaign. That’s why I’m so sensitive to it.
We're seeing a perfect storm of the kind of negativity that feeds into people's fears and underscores the dangers lurking in a market where sentiment is very sensitive, it's unsurprising the yen's recent weakness has reversed given the sour macro sentiment arising from events like the natural disaster, the failure of the OPEC meeting to follow through on the encouraging promise it had shown, as well as smaller geopolitical risks like the impeachment going on in Brazil.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for sensitive
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- حساسArabic
- citlivý, senzitivníCzech
- følsomDanish
- sensibel, empfindlichGerman
- ευαίσθητοςGreek
- sentemaEsperanto
- susceptible, sensitivo, sensibleSpanish
- sentibera, hunkiberaBasque
- herkkätunteinen, arka, herkkä, arkaluonteinenFinnish
- sensibleFrench
- kényes, érzékenyHungarian
- sensibile, delicatoItalian
- 敏感, 繊細Japanese
- hūkokikokiMāori
- wrażliwyPolish
- susceptibil, impresionabil, de precizie, receptiv, simțitor, sensibilRomanian
- ранимый, чуткий, восприимчивый, точный, конфиденциальный, чувствительный, щекотливыйRussian
- občutljivSlovene
- känsligSwedish
- முக்கியTamil
- حساسUrdu
- nhạy cảmVietnamese
- 敏感Chinese
Get even more translations for sensitive »
Translation
Find a translation for the sensitive definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"sensitive." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 13 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/sensitive>.
Discuss these sensitive definitions with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In