Sensitive
adj, noun ·Common ·Middle school level
Definitions
- 1 A person with a paranormal sensitivity to something that most cannot perceive.
"[I]t is quite certain that many of their fears were unfounded, and centred upon perfectly innocent people - especially those who were what we now call "mediumistic" or "sensitives"."
- 2 someone who serves as an intermediary between the living and the dead wordnet
- 1 Having the faculty of sensation; pertaining to the senses.
"The sensitive faculty most part overrules reason, the soul is carried hoodwinked, and the understanding captive like a beast."
- 2 Responsive to stimuli.
"The engine seemed a little sensitive to wet rails, and in consequence the uphill work was not so good north of Dundee as it had been earlier. But I have noted this same "touchiness" on the part of the "A4s", and other modern British 4-6-2s, so that in this respect No. 2006 proved no exception."
- 3 Easily offended, upset, or hurt.
"Max is very sensitive; he cried today because of the bad news."
- 4 Capable of offending, upsetting, or hurting. usually
"Religion is often a sensitive topic of discussion and should be avoided when dealing with foreign business associates."
- 5 Meant to be concealed or kept secret.
"These are highly sensitive documents."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 Being aware of the feelings of others and taking care not to offend them.
"Thank you for being sensitive."
- 7 Important, intricate, and requiring great delicacy.
"The president's untimely statement disrupted some very sensitive negotiations."
- 8 Accurate; able to register small changes in some property.
- 9 Having paranormal abilities that can be controlled through mesmerism. archaic
- 1 of or pertaining to classified information or matters affecting national security wordnet
- 2 hurting wordnet
- 3 able to feel or perceive wordnet
- 4 responsive to physical stimuli wordnet
- 5 being susceptible to the attitudes, feelings, or circumstances of others wordnet
Example
More examples"You are too sensitive to criticism."
Etymology
From Middle French sensitif, from Medieval Latin sensitivus.
Related phrases
More for "sensitive"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.