desensitize
Make less reactive
To desensitize is to reduce sensitivity—physical, emotional, or moral.
Medical desensitization exposes allergy sufferers to small doses of triggers to build tolerance.
Psychological desensitization uses gradual exposure to reduce fear or anxiety responses.
More broadly, repeated exposure to violence, suffering, or shocking content can desensitize people, making them less affected by what once disturbed them: Years of covering war had desensitized him to the carnage.
Learned behavioral adaptation
- exposureState of being unprotected
- acclimatizationAdjusting to new conditions
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- familiarizationBecoming acquainted with something
inure · acclimate · accustom · tolerance · hardening · repetition · habituation · adjustment
Harmful physical force
- overexposureExcessive amount of something
- news cycleDuration stories stay prominent
- imageryVivid descriptive language
- traumaLasting psychological wound
shock value · normalization · content warning · trigger · gore · brutality · atrocity · media saturation
Causing loss of sensation
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
- callousnessCruel emotional indifference
- indifferenceLack of interest
- apathyAbsence of feeling
hardened · coldness · unfeeling · dispassion · blunted · deadened · jaded · cynical
Immune response trigger
- allergy shotsInjections that reduce sensitivity
- immunotherapyDisease treatment via body's defenses
- antihistamineDrug blocking allergic response
- toleranceWillingness to accept difference
allergic response · pollen · dust mites · gradual exposure · sublingual · allergist · reaction · threshold
Pain-blocking substance
- analgesicPain-relieving medication
- topicalCurrently relevant or newsworthy
- lidocaineTopical numbing medication
- novocaineLocal numbing agent
numbing agent · nerve block · local · injection · sedation · pain management · dental · benzocaine
conditioning
Learned behavioral adaptation
- exposureState of being unprotected
- acclimatizationAdjusting to new conditions
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
familiarization · inure · acclimate · accustom · tolerance · hardening · repetition · habituation · adjustment · training
violence
Harmful physical force
- overexposureExcessive amount of something
- news cycleDuration stories stay prominent
- imageryVivid descriptive language
trauma · shock value · normalization · content warning · trigger · gore · brutality · atrocity · media saturation
numbing
Causing loss of sensation
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
- callousnessCruel emotional indifference
- indifferenceLack of interest
apathy · hardened · coldness · unfeeling · dispassion · blunted · deadened · jaded · cynical · burnout
allergen
Immune response trigger
- allergy shotsInjections that reduce sensitivity
- immunotherapyDisease treatment via body's defenses
- antihistamineDrug blocking allergic response
tolerance · allergic response · pollen · dust mites · gradual exposure · sublingual · allergist · reaction · threshold · immune response
anesthetic
Pain-blocking substance
- analgesicPain-relieving medication
- topicalCurrently relevant or newsworthy
- lidocaineTopical numbing medication
novocaine · numbing agent · nerve block · local · injection · sedation · pain management · dental · benzocaine · cream
desensitizesensitize
Make more aware
sensitise · hypersensitize · sharpen · attune · alert
desensitized, desensitization, desensitizing, desensitizes, desensitise, desensitised, desensitises, desensitising, desensitisation