Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To render insensitive or less sensitive.
- v. Immunology To make (an individual) nonreactive or insensitive to an antigen.
- v. To make emotionally insensitive or unresponsive, as by long exposure or repeated shocks: "This movie in effect may resensitize people who thought they were desensitized to violence” ( Steven Spielberg).
- v. To make (a photographic film or substance) less sensitive to light.
Wiktionary
- v. to cause to become less sensitive or insensitive
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. to rendered insensitive or less sensitive. Opposite of sensitize.
WordNet 3.0
- v. make insensitive
- v. cause not to be sensitive
Examples
“Army Ranger Handbook and the Transportation Security Administration's standard operational practices for airport screening, and encouraged conducting "fake operations" such as leaving bags that appear to be suspicious packages in public places to "desensitize" federal agents.”
The Washington Post: Judge orders Fairfax terror suspect to remain in jail until his trial
“However, for those at highest risk of severe influenza infection, a method is available to "desensitize" people to the egg proteins in the vaccine (see Egg Allergies).”
“If it were possible to "desensitize" all such bad words, what do you then have to take their place in communication?”
“CHRIS LARSON-FERGUSON: It was hard at first, but I kind of desensitize, got better at it and you know, ended up having fun on my dates and actually meeting people that were interesting.”
“The idea: to gradually "desensitize" her to situations that produce anxiety, from sitting in an aircraft on the runway to flying through turbulence to landing on a bumpy airstrip.”
“Transportation Security Administration's standard operational practices for airport screening, and encouraged conducting "fake operations" such as leaving bags that appear to be suspicious packages in public places to "desensitize" federal agents.”
“This might 'desensitize' him by taking the object of his fear and converting it into something that he would look forward to.”
“In an email, Cohen told Shots that repeat deployments don't "desensitize" troops.”
“The weird part for me - well, the two weird parts - were that this training was also developed, in part, to "desensitize" soldiers to certain aspects of war.”
“As well, the pictures can act to "desensitize" offenders and convince them such behaviour is normal, Makar said.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘desensitize’.
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Personal Vocabulary List
All my favourite words that I come across!
veritable, incongruence, rigamorole, letcherous, revolting, repulsive, reputrid, rapatious, forays, guise, placate, paradigm and 1162 more...
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dyy's Words
ambivalence, irony, double-edged sword, paradox, struggle, plunge, buoy, pigeon-hole, ultimately, status quo, fuel, undermine and 230 more...
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Numbrella ☂
Unfeeling; comfortably dry.
"Ella, ella, ella..."schmaltzy, nonchalant, joyless, aloof, lifeless, indifferent, dead, uninspired, lethargic, preoccupied, distant, removed and 50 more...
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bzzzzt's Words
subversion, conflagration, skewer, cavernous, procrastination, eviscerate, effigy, desensitize, incompetence, corpulent, dirigible
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Chaotic Musings
beatnick, rage, machiavellian, axiom, vicissitude, antediluvian, voodoo, bohemian, vendetta, gargoyle, midnight, chaos and 49 more...
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