sensitize
English
Alternative forms
- sensitise
Etymology
From sensitive + -ize.
Verb
sensitize (third-person singular simple present sensitizes, present participle sensitizing, simple past and past participle sensitized)
- To make (someone or something) sensitive or responsive to certain stimuli.
- 1999, Michael A. Kaliner, 12: Anaphylaxis, Marianne Frieri, Brett Kettelhut (editors), Food Hypersensitivity and Adverse Reactions, page 257,
- Anaphylaxis is the syndrome elicited in a hypersensitive subject upon subsequent exposure to the sensitizing antigen.
- 2002, Cecil Colwin, Breakthrough Swimming, page 117,
- Great emphasis should be placed on sensitizing the hands to the feel of the water, and the hands should remain sensitized throughout the workout. […] Swimmers should sensitize the hands at the beginning of every workout by swimming the first 200 meters with their fists tightly clenched.
- 2015, Christopher James, The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes, page 441,
- Again, I strongly recommend that you sensitize your collodion-coated plates in a tank, rather than a tray, as it is safer, cleaner, and more process-efficient.
- 1999, Michael A. Kaliner, 12: Anaphylaxis, Marianne Frieri, Brett Kettelhut (editors), Food Hypersensitivity and Adverse Reactions, page 257,
- To make (someone) increasingly aware of, in a concerned or sensitive way.
- Ever since the burglary, we've been more sensitized to home security issues.
- (transitive) To render capable of being acted on by actinic rays of light.
Synonyms
- (make someone increasingly aware of): familiarize
Related terms
- sensitivize
- desensitize
- sensitive
- sensitization
Translations
to make sensitive or responsive to certain stimuli
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to make increasingly aware of
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See also
- publicize
Further reading
- sensitize in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- sensitize in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- sensitize at OneLook Dictionary Search