sensitivity
part of speech
noun (sensitivity, sensitivities)
meaning for a pupil
1) Sensitivity is being kind and careful about other people's feelings. tree →
2) Sensitivity is how easily something reacts or is hurt: skin sensitivity, sensitivity to light. tree →
3) A sensitivity can be a mild allergy or bad reaction to something, like a food. tree →
4) In science and tools, sensitivity is how well an instrument can notice very small changes. tree →
5) The sensitivity of a topic is how likely it is to upset people. tree →
sense in the lessons
Everyday life and feelings: showing sensitivity when a friend is sad. Health: «gluten sensitivity», «tooth sensitivity» to cold drinks. Science: a sensitive thermometer or microphone notices tiny changes; you can change the sensitivity of a computer mouse. In stories, a character's sensitivity shows they notice how others feel.
examples
- She handled the news with great sensitivity. tree →
- My teeth have sensitivity to ice cream. tree →
- Some people have a sensitivity to milk. tree →
- Turn up the sensitivity of the microphone. tree →
- Dogs have amazing sensitivity to smells. tree →
- The teacher talked about the war with sensitivity. tree →
- Light sensitivity can come with a headache. tree →
note
Countable in the «allergy» sense (sensitivities), otherwise mostly uncountable. Adjective: sensitive. Trap: «sensitive» (easily hurt, aware of feelings) is not the same as «sensible» (showing good sense). False friend for some learners: French «sensible» means sensitive.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «sensitivity» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.