desensitisation
desensitisation — noun
1. the process by which a person's emotional feeling or physical reaction to someth
the process by which a person's emotional feeling or physical reaction to something becomes weaker after they have experienced it many times
Repeated exposure to violent images can lead to a dangerous desensitisation among young viewers.
The desensitisation of patients to common allergens is one goal of allergy clinics.
collocation: desensitisation + to + allergen/stimulus
Nikos noticed his own desensitisation to city noise after living in Taipei for two years.
Long-term use of painkillers can cause a dangerous desensitisation to the body's natural warning signals.
- numbing
more informal and suggests emotional contexts only
- habituation
neutral term used in psychology for reduced response through repeated exposure
- sensitisation
the process of becoming more responsive to a stimulus
用法筆記
Frequently followed by the preposition 'to' to indicate the specific stimulus (e.g. 'desensitisation to violence'). In medical contexts, also refers to a controlled treatment for allergies.
常見錯誤
desensitisation — verb
- desensitisationpresent simple I / you / we / they
- desensitisations3rd person singular
- desensitisationing-ing form
- desensitisationedpast simple
1. to make a person's body or a living organism stop reacting to a substance that p
to make a person's body or a living organism stop reacting to a substance that previously caused an allergic or immune response
Doctors slowly desensitised Beatriz to peanut protein by giving her tiny doses over several months.
pattern: desensitise + person + to + substance
The clinic uses a special treatment to desensitise patients who are allergic to bee stings.
Ryan was successfully desensitised to cat dander after a year of immunotherapy injections.
A new tablet could desensitise children to dust mite allergies without injections.
- hypersensitise
specialised term, nearly synonymous in allergy treatment
- immunise
broader — can mean preventing disease, not just reducing sensitivity
- sensitise
to cause a body to react to a substance it previously tolerated
文法句型
desensitise + object + to + noun
用法筆記
Commonly used in the passive voice ('was desensitised') in medical case notes. The object of 'to' names the specific allergen or irritant.
2. to cause someone to no longer feel shock, sympathy, or disgust when faced with s
to cause someone to no longer feel shock, sympathy, or disgust when faced with something that would normally disturb most people
Years of reporting from war zones had desensitised Tariro to scenes of destruction.
pattern: desensitised + person + to + situation/scene
Critics argue that violent video games may desensitise young players to real-world suffering.
Kenji worried that working in the emergency room had desensitised him to other people's pain.
Ritu believes that endless news coverage of tragedies can desensitise viewers to real human suffering.
- sensitise
to make someone more emotionally responsive or aware
文法句型
desensitise + person
desensitise + person + to + noun
用法筆記
Usually carries a negative connotation — the person is portrayed as having lost normal human empathy. Best distinguished from sense 1 (MEDICAL SENSITIVITY) by the context: emotional reactions rather than biological immune responses.
常見錯誤
3. to reduce the responsiveness of a cell or its receptors after the cell has been
to reduce the responsiveness of a cell or its receptors after the cell has been repeatedly stimulated over a long period
Prolonged exposure to a strong scent quickly desensitises the olfactory receptors in the nose.
pattern: desensitise + receptor
The nerve cells became desensitised to the pain signal after hours of continuous firing.
passive: became desensitised to + signal/stimulus
Felipe's study showed that repeated drug use desensitises the brain's dopamine receptors.
When taste buds are repeatedly exposed to very sweet food, they gradually become desensitised.
- down-regulate
a more precise technical term for receptor-level desensitisation
- up-regulate
to increase the responsiveness of a receptor or cell
文法句型
desensitise + cell/receptor
be desensitised + by + prolonged exposure
用法筆記
Restricted to specialised biological or pharmacological writing. The subject is typically a cell, receptor, or neural pathway, not a whole person. Distinguish from sense 1 (whole-organism medical treatment) by scale: sense 1 is about a person's immune system, sense 3 is about individual cells.