1. Capable of perceiving sensations. 2. Responding to a stimulus. 3. Acutely perceptive of interpersonal situations. 4. One who is readily hypnotizable. 5. Readily undergoing a chemical change, with but slight change in environmental conditions, as a s. reagent. 6. In immunology, denoting: 1) a sensitized antigen; 2) a person (or animal) rendered susceptible to immunological reactions by previous exposure to the antigen concerned. SYN: sensible (3).
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2 a) receptive to sense impressions
b) capable of being stimulated or excited by external agents (as light, gravity, or contact) <a photographic emulsion \sensitive to red light> <\sensitive protoplasm>
3) highly responsive or susceptible: as
a) easily hurt or damaged <\sensitive skin> esp easily hurt emotionally
b) excessively or abnormally susceptible: HYPERSENSITIVE <\sensitive to egg protein>
c) capable of indicating minute differences <\sensitive scales>
d) readily affected or changed by various agents (as light or mechanical shock) <a \sensitive colloid>
sen·si·tive·ness n
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adj.
possessing the ability to respond to a stimulus. The cells of the retina, for example, are sensitive to the stimulus of light and respond by sending nerve impulses to the brain. Other receptor are sensitive to different specific stimuli, such as pressure or the presence of chemical substances.
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sen·si·tive (senґsĭ-tiv) [L. sensitivus] 1. able to receive or respond to stimuli. 2. sometimes used to mean having too quick, too acute, or some other abnormal response to stimulation.Medical dictionary. 2011.