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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle French sensitif, from Medieval Latin sensitivus.
Pronunciation
Adjective
sensitive (comparative more sensitive, superlative most sensitive)
- Having the faculty of sensation; pertaining to the senses.
1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: , 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition III, section 1, member 2, subsection i:The sensitive faculty most part overrules reason, the soul is carried hoodwinked, and the understanding captive like a beast.
- Responsive to stimuli.
1947 January and February, O. S. Nock, “"The Aberdonian" in Wartime”, in Railway Magazine, page 9:The engine seemed a little sensitive to wet rails, and in consequence the uphill work was not so good north of Dundee as it had been earlier. But I have noted this same "touchiness" on the part of the "A4s", and other modern British 4-6-2s, so that in this respect No. 2006 proved no exception.
- (of a person) Easily offended, upset, or hurt.
Max is very sensitive; he cried today because of the bad news.
- (of an issue, topic, etc.) Capable of offending, upsetting, or hurting.
Religion is often a sensitive topic of discussion and should be avoided when dealing with foreign business associates.
- Meant to be concealed or kept secret.
These are highly sensitive documents.
2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel:Xeltan: I cannot speak more about this problem; it is too sensitive. Suffice it to say, she has compromised my authority as a diplomat.
- Being aware of the feelings of others and taking care not to offend them.
- Thank you for being sensitive.
- Important, intricate, and requiring great delicacy.
The president's untimely statement disrupted some very sensitive negotiations.
- (of an instrument) Accurate; able to register small changes in some property.
- (archaic) Having paranormal abilities that can be controlled through mesmerism.
Synonyms
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Antonyms
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Hyponyms
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Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
having the faculty of sensation; pertaining to the senses
responsive to stimuli
- Arabic: حَسَّاس (ḥassās)
- Armenian: զգայուն (hy) (zgayun)
- Azerbaijani: həssas (az)
- Belarusian: чуллі́вы (čullívy), чульлі́вы (čulʹlívy) (Taraškievica), адчува́льны (adčuválʹny), чу́лы (čúly), чу́ткі (čútki)
- Bulgarian: чувстви́телен (bg) (čuvstvítelen)
- Catalan: sensible (ca)
- Cebuano: sensitib, sensitibo
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 敏感 (zh) (mǐngǎn)
- Czech: citlivý (cs)
- Danish: følsom
- Dutch: gevoelig (nl), prikkelbaar (nl), lichtgeraakt (nl)
- Finnish: herkkä (fi), aistiherkkä
- French: sensible (fr)
- Galician: sensíbel (gl)
- Georgian: მგრძნობიარე (mgrʒnobiare)
- German: empfindlich (de), sensibel (de)
- Greek: ευαίσθητος (el) m (evaísthitos)
- Ancient: αἰσθητικός (aisthētikós)
- Hungarian: érzékeny (hu), fogékony (hu)
- Icelandic: viðkvæmur (is)
- Italian: ricettivo (it), sensibile (it)
- Japanese: 敏感な (ja) (びんかんな, binkan na)
- Korean: 민감하다 (ko) (min'gamhada)
- Maori: rahirahi (Usually refers to hearing)
- Norwegian: følsom (no)
- Polish: wrażliwy (pl), czuły (pl)
- Portuguese: sensível (pt), sensitivo (pt)
- Romanian: sensibil (ro), susceptibil (ro), impresionabil (ro), receptiv (ro)
- Russian: чувстви́тельный (ru) (čuvstvítelʹnyj), чу́ткий (ru) (čútkij), восприи́мчивый (ru) (vospriímčivyj)
- Slovak: citlivý
- Slovene: občutljiv (sl)
- Spanish: sensible (es), sensitivo
- Swedish: känslig (sv)
- Tagalog: matugunin
- Ukrainian: чутли́вий (čutlývyj), чу́лий (čúlyj), почутли́вий (počutlývyj), чуйни́й (čujnýj), чутки́й (čutkýj)
- Vietnamese: nhạy cảm (vi)
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easily offended
- Arabic: حَسَّاس m (ḥassās)
- Basque: sentibera (eu), hunkibera (eu)
- Bulgarian: обидчив (bg) (obidčiv)
- Catalan: sensible (ca)
- Cebuano: sensitib, sensitibo
- Czech: citlivý (cs), senzitivní (cs)
- Esperanto: sentema
- Finnish: herkkä (fi), herkkätunteinen, arka (fi)
- French: sensible (fr)
- Galician: sensíbel (gl), susceptíbel (gl)
- German: empfindlich (de), sensibel (de)
- Greek: ευαίσθητος (el) (evaísthitos), εύθικτος (el) (éfthiktos)
- Hebrew: רגיש
- Hungarian: érzékeny (hu), szenzitív (hu)
- Ingrian: herkkä, arkaloontoin
- Italian: sensibile (it)
- Japanese: 敏感な (ja) (びんかんな, binkan na)
- Maori: hūkokikoki, āritarita
- Navajo: baa hastiʼ
- Polish: drażliwy (pl) m
- Portuguese: sensível (pt)
- Romanian: receptiv (ro) m or n, sensibil (ro) m or n, simțitor (ro) m or n
- Russian: чувстви́тельный (ru) (čuvstvítelʹnyj), рани́мый (ru) (ranímyj)
- Slovene: občutljiv (sl)
- Spanish: sensible (es), susceptible (es)
- Swedish: känslig (sv)
- Turkish: alıngan (tr), darılgan (tr)
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Translations to be checked
Noun
sensitive (plural sensitives)
- A person with a paranormal sensitivity to something that most cannot perceive.
1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 72:[I]t is quite certain that many of their fears were unfounded, and centred upon perfectly innocent people - especially those who were what we now call "mediumistic" or "sensitives".
2003, Frederic W.H. Myers, Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death Part 2:Swedenborg was one of the leading savants of Europe; it would be absurd to place any of our sensitives on the same intellectual level.
French
Pronunciation
Adjective
sensitive
- feminine singular of sensitif
Noun
sensitive f (plural sensitives)
- sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica)
Further reading
Anagrams
Italian
Adjective
sensitive f pl
- feminine plural of sensitivo
Anagrams
Latin
Adjective
sēnsitīve
- vocative masculine singular of sēnsitīvus
Norwegian Bokmål
Adjective
sensitive
- definite singular of sensitiv
- plural of sensitiv
Norwegian Nynorsk
Adjective
sensitive
- definite singular of sensitiv
- plural of sensitiv