verb
- making someone less sensitive to or less affected by something, especially through repeated exposure
- reducing or eliminating an emotional or physical response to a stimulus through gradual exposure or treatment
Usage: present participle of desensitise; British spelling; American spelling is 'desensitizing'
Usage: psychology and medical contexts
Examples
- Watching too much violence on television can be desensitising to children.
- The therapist used gradual exposure as a method of desensitising patients to their phobias.
- Repeated exposure to the same advertisement is desensitising consumers to its message.
- Social media is desensitising people to tragic news events.
- The training program aims at desensitising firefighters to high-stress situations.
- Constant notifications are desensitising users to urgent alerts.