hypersensitive
/'haipə:'sensitiv/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Excessively or abnormally sensitive: Describes a state of being overly responsive or reactive to physical, emotional, or environmental stimuli. This can refer to an extreme physical reaction, such as an allergy, or an extreme emotional reaction.
- Having an allergy or peculiar/excessive susceptibility: Specifically denotes an unusually strong physical reaction to a particular substance or factor.
Usage
The word "hypersensitive" is used to describe a condition or a person's state where the normal level of sensitivity is greatly exceeded. It is often used in medical/biological contexts (e.g., allergies, immune responses) and psychological/social contexts (e.g., emotions, criticism).
Examples
- Medical Context:
- She is hypersensitive to penicillin and must avoid it. (She has a severe allergic reaction to penicillin.)
- His skin became hypersensitive after the treatment, reacting to even mild soaps. (His skin became abnormally sensitive.)
- Emotional/Behavioral Context:
- He's hypersensitive to criticism and gets upset over minor feedback. (He reacts excessively to criticism.)
- The political climate has made people hypersensitive to certain words. (People have become overly reactive to specific language.)
Advanced Usage
- "hypersensitive to": This is the standard prepositional phrase used to indicate the specific trigger.
- The patient is hypersensitive to a range of environmental triggers.
- Used in technical/scientific writing to describe biological mechanisms.
- The study focused on hypersensitive immune responses in autoimmune disorders.
Variants and Related Words
- Hypersensitivity (noun): The condition or quality of being hypersensitive.
- Skin hypersensitivity is a common side effect.
- Hypersensitize (verb, less common): To make hypersensitive.
- Repeated exposure can hypersensitize the immune system.
Synonyms
- Allergic: Having an allergy; often used interchangeably in medical contexts for physical reactions.
- Oversensitive: Excessively sensitive; more common for emotional/psychological contexts.
- Supersensitive: Very sensitive; similar in meaning.
- Touchy: Easily offended or upset; informal, usually for emotional sensitivity.
Antonyms
- Insensitive: Not sensitive or responsive.
- Tolerant: Able to endure or accept something without adverse reaction.
- Desensitized: Made less sensitive.
Notes
- In medicine, "hypersensitivity" has specific classifications (Type I-IV) describing different immune reaction mechanisms.
- In everyday language, calling someone "hypersensitive" can sometimes carry a negative or dismissive connotation regarding their emotional reactions.
Adjective
- having an allergy or peculiar or excessive susceptibility (especially to a specific factor)
- allergic children
- hypersensitive to pollen