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desensitize

 - 5 dictionary results

de⋅sen⋅si⋅tize

  [dee-sen-si-tahyz]
Use desensitize in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -tized, -tiz⋅ing.
1. to lessen the sensitiveness of.
2. to make indifferent, unaware, or the like, in feeling.
3. Photography. to make less sensitive or wholly insensitive to light, as the emulsion on a film.
4. Printing. to treat (the design on a lithographic plate) with an etch in order to increase the capacity to retain moisture, and to remove traces of grease.
5. Chemistry. to reduce the sensitivity of (an explosive) to those stimuli capable of detonating it.
Also, especially British, de⋅sen⋅si⋅tise.

Origin:
1900–05; de- + sensitize

Related forms:
de⋅sen⋅si⋅tiz⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To desensitize
de·sen·si·tize   (dē-sěn'sĭ-tīz')   
tr.v.   de·sen·si·tized, de·sen·si·tiz·ing, de·sen·si·tiz·es

  1. To render insensitive or less sensitive.

  2. Immunology To make (an individual) nonreactive or insensitive to an antigen.

  3. To make emotionally insensitive or unresponsive, as by long exposure or repeated shocks: "This movie in effect may resensitize people who thought they were desensitized to violence" (Steven Spielberg).

  4. To make (a photographic film or substance) less sensitive to light.

de·sen'si·ti·za'tion (-tĭ-zā'shən) n., de·sen'si·tiz'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

desensitize 
1904, from de- "do the opposite of" + sensitize. Originally of photography development; psychological sense is first recorded 1935.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: de·sen·si·tize
Variant: also British de·sen·si·tise /(')dE-'sen(t)-s&-"tIz/
Function: transitiveverb
Inflected Forms: -tized also British -tised; -tiz·ing also British -tis·ing
1 : to make (a sensitized orhypersensitive individual) insensitive or nonreactive to a sensitizing agent
2 : to extinguish an emotional response (as of fear, anxiety, or guilt) to stimuli which formerlyinduced it : make emotionally insensitive desensitizes children to actual violence —Stephanie Harrington> —de·sen·si·ti·za·tion also British de·sen·si·ti·sa·tion /(")dE-"sen-s&t-&-'zA-sh&n,-"sen-st&-'zA-/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

desensitize de·sen·si·tize (dē-sěn'sĭ-tīz')
v. de·sen·si·tized, de·sen·si·tiz·ing, de·sen·si·tiz·es

  1. To render insensitive or less sensitive, as a nerve or tooth.

  2. To make an individual nonreactive or insensitive to an antigen.

  3. To make a person emotionally insensitive or unresponsive, as by long exposure or repeated shocks.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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