sensitive
sen·sit·ive/ˈsɛn.sɪt.ɪv/adjective, noun
sensitive is spelled S-E-N-S-I-T-I-V-E, 3 syllables: sen·sit·ive. The wrong spelling people search most is sensative: about 350 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 10 of all searches for the word. Sensitive is an adjective meaning “Having the faculty of sensation; pertaining to the senses”.
How many letters and syllables are in sensitive?
| Letters | 9: S-E-N-S-I-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: sen·sit·ive |
| In writing | 29 times per million words; the 3,218th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, sensative, about 350 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell sensitive?
Sensitive is spelled S-E-N-S-I-T-I-V-E. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 10 of the searches for sensitive in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is sensitive?
Sensitive appears 29 times per million words in written English, the 3,218th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sensitive?
- UK /ˈsɛn.sɪt.ɪv/
- US /ˈsɛn.sɪt.ɪv/
- US [ˈsɛn.sɪɾ.ɪv]
Sensitive has 3 syllables, split sen·sit·ive in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sensitive.wav, En-us-sensitive.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with sensitive?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as sensitive from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnsɪtɪv/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sensitive
- more sensitive comparative
- most sensitive superlative
- sensitives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sensitive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having the faculty of sensation; pertaining to the senses.
- 2
Responsive to stimuli.
- 3
Easily offended, upset, or hurt.
Max is very sensitive; he cried today because of the bad news.
- 4
Capable of offending, upsetting, or hurting.
Religion is often a sensitive topic of discussion and should be avoided when dealing with foreign business associates.
- 5
Meant to be concealed or kept secret.
These are highly sensitive documents.
- 6
Being aware of the feelings of others and taking care not to offend them.
Thank you for being sensitive.
- 7
Important, intricate, and requiring great delicacy.
The president's untimely statement disrupted some very sensitive negotiations.
- 8
Accurate; able to register small changes in some property.
noun
- 1
A person with a paranormal sensitivity to something that most cannot perceive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sensitive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | sensitivo , sensível , delicado |
| Spanish | sensible , sensitivo , susceptible |
| French | sensible , susceptible |
| German | empfindlich, sensibel |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sensitive come from?
From Middle French sensitif, from Medieval Latin sensitivus. By surface analysis, sense + -ite + -ive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).