sensitivity

sensitivity — noun

1. a quality that lets a person notice and respond kindly to someone else's feeling

1.nounB2
Definition

a quality that lets a person notice and respond kindly to someone else's feelings or needs

Example

As a nurse, Ife's sensitivity to patients' worries made everyone feel calmer.

sensitivity to + noun phrase (patients' worries)

The manager showed great sensitivity when she asked the team about their workload.

Common collocations
  • great sensitivity
  • show sensitivity
  • sensitivity to the needs of
  • sensitivity towards
  • with sensitivity
Synonyms
  • empathy

    focuses more on sharing the feeling itself rather than responding helpfully

  • understanding

    broader term; less emotional nuance

  • compassion

    implies a stronger wish to relieve suffering

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

sensitivity to [someone/something]

show sensitivity towards [someone]

Usage Note

Often used in professional contexts such as healthcare, management, or social work to describe the quality of being attentive to others' emotional states.

Common Mistakes

She has a sensitivity for others' feelings.
She has sensitivity to others' feelings.
The correct preposition after sensitivity in this sense is 'to', not 'for'.

2. a tendency to feel hurt or offended quickly by what others say or do

2.nounB2
Definition

a tendency to feel hurt or offended quickly by what others say or do

Example

Roya's sensitivity to criticism made it hard for her team to give honest feedback.

sensitivity to + criticism

His sensitivity about his accent caused him to avoid speaking in meetings.

Common collocations
  • sensitivity to criticism
  • sensitivity about
  • extreme sensitivity
  • emotional sensitivity
Synonyms
  • touchiness

    more informal; emphasises quick anger or annoyance

  • defensiveness

    focuses on self-protective reactions rather than hurt feelings

  • vulnerability

    broader term; not always negative

Antonyms
  • resilience

    ability to recover quickly from criticism or setbacks

  • toughness

    informal; not easily affected by others' words

Grammar Patterns

sensitivity to [criticism/rejection]

sensitivity about [appearance/accent/age]

Usage Note

This sense carries a slightly negative tone, implying vulnerability or thin-skinnedness. It contrasts with sense 1 (UNDERSTAND OTHERS), where sensitivity is a positive trait.

Common Mistakes

Don't be so sensitive on criticism.
Don't be so sensitive to criticism.
After 'sensitive' (adjective) or 'sensitivity', use 'to', not 'on'.

3. the characteristic of a topic or situation that calls for careful handling so it

3.nounB2
Definition

the characteristic of a topic or situation that calls for careful handling so it does not offend anyone or cause trouble

Example

The political sensitivity of the land dispute meant no one wanted to discuss it openly.

the + adjective + sensitivity of + noun phrase

Journalists must understand the cultural sensitivity of reporting on religious ceremonies abroad.

Common collocations
  • political sensitivity
  • cultural sensitivity
  • due to the sensitivity of
  • the sensitivity of the issue
  • heightened sensitivity
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

the sensitivity of [an issue/a subject/the matter]

due to the sensitivity of

Usage Note

Frequently modifies nouns like 'issue', 'subject', 'matter', 'topic', or 'information'. Common in news reporting, corporate communications, and diplomatic contexts.

Common Mistakes

The sensitive of the topic requires careful handling.
The sensitivity of the topic requires careful handling.
Use the noun 'sensitivity', not the adjective 'sensitive', after 'the'.

4. the tendency of a body or body part to react strongly to a particular substance,

4.nounB1
Definition

the tendency of a body or body part to react strongly to a particular substance, light, temperature, or other physical stimulus

Example

Piotr's skin sensitivity to sunlight meant he always wore sunscreen when going outside.

skin sensitivity to + noun

Some factory workers develop a strong sensitivity to loud noises after years on the job.

Common collocations
  • skin sensitivity
  • sensitivity to light
  • food sensitivity
  • dental sensitivity
  • cause sensitivity
  • chemical sensitivity
Synonyms
  • allergy

    more specific; involves an immune system response

  • intolerance

    commonly used for food reactions (e.g., lactose intolerance)

  • susceptibility

    formal; implies being easily affected or harmed

Antonyms
  • resistance

    ability to withstand a substance without reaction

  • immunity

    medical term for complete protection from a substance

Grammar Patterns

sensitivity to [light/sound/food/pollen]

skin sensitivity

food sensitivity

Usage Note

In medical contexts, sensitivity is different from an allergy: an allergy involves the immune system, while sensitivity may involve a broader range of physical responses. However, in everyday language, the two terms are often used interchangeably.

Common Mistakes

I have sensitivity for dairy products.
I have sensitivity to dairy products.
Use 'to', not 'for', after sensitivity in this sense.

5. the capacity of a device or test to pick up on or register tiny variations in wh

5.nounC1
Definition

the capacity of a device or test to pick up on or register tiny variations in what it measures

Example

The laboratory scale's sensitivity let the chemist measure a single grain of salt.

the sensitivity of [instrument]

High sensitivity in a microphone helps capture quiet sounds during a professional recording session.

high sensitivity in [device]

Common collocations
  • high sensitivity
  • low sensitivity
  • sensitivity of the instrument
  • sensor sensitivity
  • measurement sensitivity
  • maximum sensitivity
Synonyms
  • precision

    focuses on consistency of measurement, not minimal detectable change

  • accuracy

    broader term; how close a measurement is to the true value

  • responsiveness

    how quickly a device reacts to input

Antonyms
  • insensitivity

    inability to detect or register small changes

  • tolerance

    the range within which a device does not react

Grammar Patterns

the sensitivity of [an instrument/a device/a sensor]

high/low sensitivity

Usage Note

This sense is almost exclusively used in technical, scientific, or engineering writing. In product specifications, sensitivity is often expressed as a numerical value (e.g., 'the scale has a sensitivity of 0.001 grams').

Common Mistakes

This sensor has a great sensitivity for small movements.
This sensor has high sensitivity to small movements.
Use 'to' rather than 'for', and prefer 'high'/'low' over 'great' in technical writing.

Word family

  • sensitive
    adjectiveB1
  • sensitively
    adverbB2
  • insensitive
    adjectiveB2
  • insensitivity
    nounC1
  • sensitise
    verbC1
  • desensitise
    verbC1
  • hypersensitive
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While all four words describe a positive response to others' feelings, sensitivity (sense 1) focuses on the ability to notice and recognise what others need or feel. Empathy goes a step further — it means actually sharing or feeling the same emotion as another person. Compassion adds a strong desire to help or relieve suffering, often in a broader or more active sense. Sympathy is the most passive of the four: it means feeling sorry for someone's situation without necessarily understanding or sharing their feeling. Understanding is the broadest term and can be purely intellectual, without emotional engagement. For example, a nurse may have sensitivity to a patient's anxiety (she notices it), empathy with the fear itself (she feels it too), and compassion that drives her to spend extra time with the patient. A colleague might express sympathy after hearing about the patient's illness, even without having experienced it personally.

empathy ↗compassion ↗sympathy ↗understanding ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • sensitivity to
  • sensitivity about
  • the sensitivity of
  • with sensitivity
  • due to the sensitivity of

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Sensitivity comes from the adjective 'sensitive', which entered English in the late 1300s from Latin 'sensitivus', meaning 'capable of feeling through the senses'. This, in turn, comes from 'sentire' — 'to feel, perceive, or notice'. The noun form 'sensitivity' emerged in the early 1800s, first used in scientific contexts to describe the responsiveness of instruments and later extended to emotional and social meanings.