Sensitive

How to spell sensitive

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce sensitive

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does sensitive mean?

1. adjectiveQuick to detect or respond to small changes, feelings, or stimuli; easily affected emotionally or physically.

Sensitive in a sentence

• The report contained sensitive financial details that could not be shared.

• Her teeth became sensitive to cold drinks after the dental work.

Where does sensitive come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb sentire, meaning 'to feel' or 'to perceive', which gave rise to the medieval Latin adjective sensitivus, describing something capable of feeling or sensation. English took it up in the late 1300s by way of Old French, at first in technical and philosophical writing about the 'sensitive soul', the part of a creature believed to register physical sensation. Over the centuries the meaning broadened from purely registering touch and sound to describing people who are easily affected emotionally, and later to instruments that respond to tiny changes. The same sentire root quietly powers a large family of English words, including 'sense', 'sentiment', 'consent', and 'resent', so recognising that shared sens- core is the surest guide to the spelling. The tricky part for writers is the ending: it is -itive, not -ative, because the suffix attached to the sensit- stem rather than to the bare verb.

How the word is built

• sens- (from sentire: to feel/perceive)
• -itive (adjective suffix forming 'tending to')