Sensitive
Easily affected by external stimuli or feelings; having or displaying keen perception or sensitivity; requiring careful handling or confidentiality.
adjectiveSensitive
Easily affected by external stimuli or feelings; having or displaying keen perception or sensitivity; requiring careful handling or confidentiality.
adjectiveImagine This
Imagine a student in a loud cafeteria who flinches at every clap and notices when a friend is upset, choosing words carefully to avoid causing offense.
Sounds Like
SEN-si-tiv
Looks Like
Looks like sense + ive; visually related to the word sense and to sensations
Remember This
The root sense is tied to feeling. Sensitive often collocates with information (sensitive data) and with physical or emotional receptiveness.
Other Forms
Connect With
perceptive, delicate, tactful, vulnerable, susceptible, receptive
Note
Do not confuse with sensory (relating to the senses) or sensation (a physical feeling). Be careful with phrases: 'sensitive to' (affected by) vs 'sensitive about' (easily offended).
Study Deeper
- She is highly sensitive to criticism and often takes feedback personally.
- The dataset contains sensitive information that must be encrypted.
From Latin sensus 'feeling' (from sentire 'to feel') + the suffix -ive; related to sense, sensation, and sensory.
Sense it: if you can sense something clearly, you are sensitive to it.
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Impugn
verbTo dispute the truth, validity, or honesty of a claim, statement, or someone's motives; to challenge or cast doubt on.
Succulent
adjectiveJuicy and tender; (of a plant) having thick, fleshy tissues that store water; can also describe something richly satisfying or interesting.
Tenacious
adjectiveNot easily pulled apart; holding fast or continuing with determination, whether physically or figuratively.
Similar Words
Related words and words with the same part of speech.
Vulnerable
adjectiveSusceptible to physical or emotional harm; easily affected by danger, attack, or distress.
Receptive
adjectiveWilling to consider or receive new ideas, signals, or feedback; open to information and influence.
Abstruse
adjectiveDifficult to understand; obscure or highly complex.
Accidental
adjectiveHappening by chance or without deliberate planning; not intended. In music, it is also a noun for a symbol that temporarily alters a pitch.
Acerbic
adjectiveSharp or biting in tone or taste; caustic or mordant in manner.
Acquiescent
adjectiveReady to agree or approve without protest; compliant.