- 1aware of and able to understand other people and their feelings a sensitive and caring man sensitive to something She is very sensitive to other people's feelings. opposite insensitive Which Word?sensible / sensitive
- Sensible and sensitive are connected with two different meanings of sense.
- Sensible refers to your ability to make good judgments:She gave me some very sensible advice. It wasn’t very sensible to go out on your own so late at night.
- Sensitive refers to how easily you react to things and how much you are aware of things or other people:a soap for sensitive skin This movie may upset a sensitive child.
to art/music/literature - 2able to understand art, music, and literature and to express yourself through them an actor's sensitive reading of the poem a sensitive portrait
- 3easily offended or upset You're far too sensitive. sensitive about something He's very sensitive about his weight. sensitive to something She's very sensitive to criticism. opposite insensitive information/subject
- 4that you have to treat with great care because it may offend people or make them angry Health care is a politically sensitive issue. That's a sensitive area. to cold/light/food, etc.
- 5reacting quickly or more than usual to something sensitive areas of the body sensitive to something My teeth are very sensitive to cold food. light-sensitive paper The eyes of some fish are acutely sensitive to light. opposite insensitive to small changes
- 6sensitive (to something) able to measure very small changes a sensitive instrument The eyes can be a sensitive indicator of health. (figurative) The Stock Exchange is very sensitive to political change. opposite insensitive
to people's feelings
1
adverb She handled the matter sensitively. He writes sensitively.Idioms
2to mention a subject that makes someone feel angry, upset, embarrassed, etc. You touched a raw nerve when you mentioned his first wife.See sensitive in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Check pronunciation: sensitive