desensitize

/diːˈsensətaɪz/ (bre, ipa) · /diːˈsensətaɪz/ (ame, ipa) · /(ˌ)dē-ˈsen(t)-sə-ˌtīz/ (ame, mw)

desensitize — verb

  • desensitizepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • desensitizeshe / she / it
  • desensitizedpast simple
  • desensitizing-ing form

1. to make someone less emotionally responsive to something unpleasant, so that see

1.動詞及物B2
釋義

to make someone less emotionally responsive to something unpleasant, so that seeing or experiencing it repeatedly triggers a weaker reaction — for example, a doctor who no longer feels shock at the sight of blood after many years of practice

例句

Years of working in emergency rooms had desensitized Noor to the sight of serious injuries.

desensitized + object + to + noun — emotional numbing

Constant exposure to violent images in the media can gradually desensitize viewers.

同義詞
  • numb

    more temporary and physical; can describe literal loss of feeling in a body part, not just emotion

  • harden

    implies becoming tough or unfeeling, often by choice rather than through repeated exposure

  • inure

    formal register; suggests gradual habituation to hardship through experience

反義詞
  • sensitize

    to make someone more aware or responsive to something

文法句型

desensitize + object + to + noun phrase

用法筆記

Frequently used in the passive form: 'be/get desensitized to something'. The grammatical object of 'to' is the stimulus that no longer produces a strong reaction (e.g. violence, suffering, pain).

常見錯誤

❌Years of news coverage desensitized people from the war.
✅Years of news coverage desensitized people to the war.
💡The correct preposition after desensitize is 'to', not 'from'.

2. to medically treat a person or an animal so that their body stops having a stron

2.動詞及物C1
釋義

to medically treat a person or an animal so that their body stops having a strong allergic or negative reaction to a substance — for example, giving a patient tiny amounts of peanut protein over time so that peanuts no longer trigger a dangerous response

例句

The allergy clinic desensitized Nkechi to peanut protein over a period of six months.

collocation: desensitize + to + [allergen/substance]

Élise received weekly injections for several months to desensitize her to cat dander.

同義詞
  • hyposensitize

    more technical; specifically refers to reducing sensitivity in medical immunotherapy

反義詞
  • sensitize

    to make the immune system reactive to a substance

文法句型

desensitize + object + to + substance

desensitize + object + against + substance

用法筆記

Common in medical contexts, especially allergy treatment and immunology. Unlike sense 1 (EMOTIONAL), this sense describes a physical or biological process rather than a psychological one. The patient is typically treated with gradually increasing doses of the substance they react to.

常見錯誤

❌The doctor desensitized her allergy.
✅The doctor desensitized her to the substance causing her allergy.
💡The object of desensitize is the person or the immune system, not the allergic reaction itself.