1. (

• sensitize ,
• sensitise ,
• sensify ,
• sensibilize ,
• sensibilise

) make sensitive or aware; "He was not sensitized to her emotional needs" ;

2. (

• sensitize ,
• sensitise

) cause to sense; make sensitive; "She sensitized me with respect to gender differences in this traditional male-dominated society"; "My tongue became sensitized to good wine" ;

3. (

• sensitize ,
• sensitise ,

) make sensitive to a drug or allergen; "Long-term exposure to this medicine may sensitize you to the allergen" ;

4. (

• sensitize ,
• sensitise ,

) make (a material) sensitive to light, often of a particular colour, by coating it with a photographic emulsion; "sensitize the photographic film" ;