sensitive B2 Topic:People & Society US /ˈsɛn.sɪt.ɪv/ UK /ˈsɛn.sɪt.ɪv/ See IPA manual Freq #2825 Meanings 1 adj Easily upset or hurt by what people say or do. Max is very sensitive and cried when he heard the bad news. 2 adj Aware of and caring about other people's feelings. A good nurse must be sensitive to the needs of patients. 3 adj Likely to upset or offend people, so needing careful handling. Religion can be a sensitive topic, so handle it with care. 4 adj Reacting quickly or strongly to physical conditions or stimuli. A mimosa's leaves are sensitive to touch and fold up at once. 5 adj Meant to be kept secret or private. These are highly sensitive documents and must not be shared. Thesaurus Synonyms awarecaringclassifiedcompassionateneshprecisetender ↔ Opposites insensitivenonsensitiveresistantstoicuncaring Word family Derived forms barosensitivechemosensitivecold-sensitivecontext-sensitivecryosensitiveecosensitiveelectrosensitiveextrasensitivehemosensitivehydrosensitivehygrosensitivehyposensitive Related forms sense Common collocations sensitive fern Adjective + noun Etymology From Middle French sensitif, from Medieval Latin sensitivus. sensitif Middle French sensitivus la-med View etymology graph -> Topics People & Society External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # sensitive **Type:** Word **Level:** B2 **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈsɛn.sɪt.ɪv/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈsɛn.sɪt.ɪv/ **Frequency rank:** 2825 ## Meanings 1. Easily upset or hurt by what people say or do. 2. Aware of and caring about other people's feelings. 3. Likely to upset or offend people, so needing careful handling. 4. Reacting quickly or strongly to physical conditions or stimuli. 5. Meant to be kept secret or private. ## Examples - Max is very sensitive and cried when he heard the bad news. - A good nurse must be sensitive to the needs of patients. - Religion can be a sensitive topic, so handle it with care. - A mimosa's leaves are sensitive to touch and fold up at once. - These are highly sensitive documents and must not be shared. ## Synonyms - aware - caring - classified - compassionate - nesh - precise - tender ## Antonyms - insensitive - nonsensitive - resistant - stoic - uncaring ## Derived Forms - barosensitive - chemosensitive - cold-sensitive - context-sensitive - cryosensitive - ecosensitive - electrosensitive - extrasensitive - hemosensitive - hydrosensitive - hygrosensitive - hyposensitive ## Related Forms - sense ## Roots and Affixes - Root: sensitif - Root: sensitivus - Affix: -ive - tending to ## Etymology From Middle French sensitif, from Medieval Latin sensitivus. ## Topics - People & Society markdown