sensitize
verb
sen·si·tize
| \ ˈsen(t)-sə-ˌtīz
\
\
sensitized;
sensitizing
Keep scrolling for more
Examples of sensitize in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Those proteins are able to sensitize the immune system and trigger an allergic reaction in someone with a food allergy. — Jennifer Couzin-frankel, Science | AAAS, "Can antacids boost allergy risk?," 30 July 2019 The negatives were turned into prints using paper that was coated with ammonium and fermented egg white, or albumen, and sensitized with silver nitrate. — Emily Toomey, Smithsonian, "The Actress Who Left the Stage to Become a Civil War Spy," 12 Aug. 2019 These qualities are hard to select for or to instill, but their lack can be quickly discerned by those who have been sensitized by need. — John Crowley, Harper's magazine, "Works of Mercy," 10 Apr. 2019 Only use this on tough spots and sparingly so — vitamin C is highly acidic and can sensitize your skin if overused at this concentration. — Ashley Weatherford, The Cut, "Everything at Paula’s Choice Is on Sale Right Now," 13 June 2018 One view is that the increased amounts of CGRP released at the start of a migraine sensitize the trigeminal nerve to what are normally innocuous signals, resulting in inflammation in the nerves that is relayed to the brain as a pain signal. — Emily Underwood, Science | AAAS, "Will antibodies finally put an end to migraines?," 18 May 2018 Following injection into the same area of the nervous system that the RNAs originated, the animal behaved as if it had been sensitized. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Researchers claim to have transferred a memory between two sea slugs," 16 May 2018 Our work revolves around sensitizing students and the new generation and arming them with knowledge. — Dina Kraft, The Christian Science Monitor, "For still-stateless Palestinians, cultural life serves as a building block," 18 Apr. 2018 The pond virus killed off most of the bacteria and re-sensitized the survivors to antibiotics. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Virus fished from pond cures man’s deadly antibiotic-resistant infection," 20 Mar. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sensitize.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for sensitize
sensitize
verb
English Language Learners Definition of sensitize
: to make (someone) more aware of something
medical
: to cause (someone) to become sensitive to a substance and to react to it in a bad way
See the full definition for sensitize in the English Language Learners Dictionary
sensitize
transitive verb
sen·si·tize
variants:
also British sensitise \ ˈsen(t)-sə-ˌtīz
\
\
sensitized
also British sensitised;
sensitizing
also British sensitising
Medical Definition of sensitize
: to make sensitive or hypersensitive
the patient was sensitized to the drug