hypersensitive

hypersensitive
hy·per·sen·si·tive .hī-pər-'sen(t)-sət-iv, -'sen(t)-stiv adj
1) excessively or abnormally sensitive
2) abnormally susceptible physiologically to a specific agent (as a drug or antigen)
hy·per·sen·si·tive·ness n
hy·per·sen·si·tiv·i·ty -.sen(t)-sə-'tiv-ət-ē n, pl -ties

* * *

adj.
prone to respond abnormally to the presence of a particular antigen, which may cause a variety of tissue reactions ranging from serum sickness to an allergy (such as hay fever) or, at the severest, to anaphylactic shock (see anaphylaxis). It is thought that when the normal antigen-antibody defence reaction is followed by tissue damage this may be due to an abnormality in the working of the complement system. See also allergy, immunity.

* * *

hy·per·sen·si·tive (hi″pər-senґsĭ-tiv) 1. having abnormally increased sensitivity. 2. reacting with characteristic signs and symptoms to the application of or contact with certain substances (allergens) in amounts that are innocuous to nonsensitized individuals. See hypersensitivity.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • hypersensitive — index querulous Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • hypersensitive — 1827, a hybrid from HYPER (Cf. hyper ) + SENSITIVE (Cf. sensitive). Related: Hypersensitivity …   Etymology dictionary

  • hypersensitive — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ abnormally or excessively sensitive …   English terms dictionary

  • hypersensitive — [hī΄pər sen′sə tiv] adj. abnormally or excessively sensitive hypersensitivity n …   English World dictionary

  • hypersensitive — hy|per|sen|si|tive [ˌhaıpəˈsensıtıv US pər ] adj 1.) if someone is hypersensitive to a drug, substance etc, their body reacts very badly to it = ↑allergic hypersensitive to ▪ I discovered I was hypersensitive to caffeine. 2.) very easily offended …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Hypersensitive — Infobox Album | Name = Hypersensitive Type = Album Artist = Ghost Machine Released = November 21, 2006 Recorded = Orange Whip Studios; Santa Barbara, CA Pete s Metal Box; Santa Barbara, CA Genre = Industrial metal Progressive rock Experimental… …   Wikipedia

  • hypersensitive — [[t]ha͟ɪpə(r)se̱nsɪtɪv[/t]] 1) ADJ: oft ADJ to/about n If you say that someone is hypersensitive, you mean that they get annoyed or offended very easily. Student teachers were hypersensitive to any criticism of their performance. Syn: touchy 2)… …   English dictionary

  • hypersensitive — hypersensitiveness, hypersensitivity, n. /huy peuhr sen si tiv/, adj. 1. excessively sensitive: to be hypersensitive to criticism. 2. allergic to a substance to which persons do not normally react. [1870 75; HYPER + SENSITIVE] * * * …   Universalium

  • hypersensitive — adj. hypersensitive about, to * * * [ˌhaɪpə sensɪtɪv] to hypersensitiveabout …   Combinatory dictionary

  • hypersensitive — hy|per|sen|si|tive [ ,haıpər sensıtıv ] adjective 1. ) very easily upset or offended a ) a hypersensitive issue is difficult to solve and likely to upset a lot of people 2. ) MEDICAL extremely sensitive to certain substances ╾… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • hypersensitive — adjective 1 (+ to) extremely sensitive to any change in conditions, to pain, to certain chemicals, drugs etc 2 too easily hurt or upset by unimportant things (+ to/about): She s hypersensitive to any form of criticism. hypersensitivity noun (U) …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”