desensitize

[ dee-sen-si-tahyz ]
See synonyms for: desensitizedesensitized on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),de·sen·si·tized, de·sen·si·tiz·ing.
  1. to lessen the sensitiveness of.

  2. to make indifferent, unaware, or the like, in feeling.

  1. Photography. to make less sensitive or wholly insensitive to light, as the emulsion on a film.

  2. 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.

  3. Chemistry. to reduce the sensitivity of (an explosive) to those stimuli capable of detonating it.

Origin of desensitize

1
First recorded in 1900–05; de- + sensitize
  • Also especially British, de·sen·si·tise .

Other words from desensitize

  • de·sen·si·tiz·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use desensitize in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for desensitize

desensitize

desensitise

/ (diːˈsɛnsɪˌtaɪz) /


verb(tr)
  1. to render insensitive or less sensitive: the patient was desensitized to the allergen; to desensitize photographic film

  2. psychol to decrease the abnormal fear in (a person) of a situation or object, by exposing him to it either in reality or in his imagination

Derived forms of desensitize

  • desensitization or desensitisation, noun
  • desensitizer or desensitiser, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012