sensitivity

/ˌsɛn.sɪˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/

//ˌsɛn.sɪˈtɪv.ɪ.ti// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"sensitivity" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sensitivity” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,740. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,740
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
17
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The quality or state of being sensitive; sensitiveness.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sensitivity · sensitivity · English

sensitivity · rank #7,740 · 17 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,740
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH secular

Nearest frequency peer: secular (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “sensitivity”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “sensitivity” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sensitivity vs sensibility
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sensitivity
PropertyValue
Headwordsensitivity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌsɛn.sɪˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/
Letters11
Frequency rank#7,740
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sensitivity”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).sensitivitylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “secular” (#7,739), “Shane” (#7,741), “sanctions” (#7,738). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sensitivity” is #7,740. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around sensitivity (IPA /ˌsɛn.sɪˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,740 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for sensitivity, with forms such as "esnsitivity", "senistivity", and "sennsitivity". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "sensibility", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From sensitive + -ity. The correct English form is sensitivity, spelled S-E-N-S-I-T-I-V-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The quality or state of being sensitive; sensitiveness.
  2. 2
    The ability of an organism or organ to respond to external stimuli.
  3. 3
    The ability of an organism or organ to respond to external stimuli.
  4. 4
    The probability, in a binary classification test, of a true positive being correctly identified.
  5. 5
    The degree of response of an instrument to a change in an input signal.
  6. 6
    The rate at which the player's facing direction or position changes relative to input device movement.
  7. 7
    The degree of response of a film etc. to light of a specified wavelength.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how sensitivity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. In any event, the incident, and the media attention it attracted, highlights the sensitivity of language politics in Singapore and is reflective of the fact that this sensitivity extends to campus life.
  2. Owing to sensitivities about the force's capabilities, Russell is unable to say how many drones BTP has, or where and when they operate. But he does confide that the force works hand in hand with the helicopter service, and its ability to deploy drones is getting quicker.

Etymology

From sensitive + -ity.

Antonyms

insensitivity

This word in other languages

sensibilidad(Español)sensibilité(Français)Sensitivität(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • esnsitivity
  • senistivity
  • sennsitivity
  • sensiitvity
  • sensitiivty
  • sensitivitty
  • sensitivityy
  • sensitiviyt
  • sensitivtiy
  • sensitivvity
  • sensittivity
  • sensitviity
  • senssitivity
  • senstiivity
  • sesnitivity
  • snesitivity
  • ssensitivity

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sensitivity - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

esnsitivity2senistivity2sennsitivity1sensiitvity2sensitiivty2sensitivitty1sensitivityy1sensitiviyt2
Edit distance from "sensitivity"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sensitivity"?
"sensitivity" is spelled S-E-N-S-I-T-I-V-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌsɛn.sɪˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/.
What does "sensitivity" mean?
As a noun, "sensitivity" means: The quality or state of being sensitive; sensitiveness.
What words are commonly confused with "sensitivity"?
"sensitivity" is commonly confused with "sensibility". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sensitivity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sensitivity" is /ˌsɛn.sɪˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sensitivity"?
From sensitive + -ity. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sensitivity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

reservation#7,733quarterback#7,728businessman#7,657PlayStation#7,829

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

dramatically17 variantsremembering17 variantssupervision17 variantscoincidence17 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list