desensitizes
Makes less reactive
Desensitizes means to make less sensitive or responsive.
Repeated exposure to violence desensitizes viewers to its impact.
Allergy treatments desensitize patients to allergens through gradual exposure.
The training desensitizes recruits to the chaos of combat.
The word implies diminished reaction to something that once provoked strong feeling.
Causing loss of sensation
- deadeningLessening intensity or sensitivity
- hardeningBecoming less soft
- callousnessCruel emotional indifference
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
indifference · apathy · coldness · unfeeling · blunting · dulling · compassion fatigue · dispassion
State of being unprotected
- repetitionAct of redoing
- familiarityKnowledge through experience
- conditioningLearned behavioral adaptation
- acclimationAdjusting to new conditions
routine · overexposure · saturation · normalizing · inurement · jadedness · staleness · monotony
Pain-blocking substance
- analgesicPain-relieving medication
- topicalCurrently relevant or newsworthy
- lidocaineTopical numbing medication
- novocaineLocal numbing agent
nerve block · local anesthesia · pain relief · numbness · sedation · allergy treatment · immunotherapy · antihistamine
Capacity to disturb
- normalizationAdjusting to a standard
- media saturationExcessive information coverage
- doom scrollingCompulsive consumption of distressing content
- news fatigueExhaustion from media overload
horror films · video games · violent imagery · gore · sensationalism · content warning
Addressing psychological injury effects
- PTSD treatmentAddressing psychological injury aftermath
- anxiety reductionLowering excessive worry
- exposure therapyAnxiety treatment through confrontation
- coping mechanismMethod for managing distress
aversion therapy · counterconditioning · reprocessing · virtual reality therapy · systematic approach · clinical intervention · behavioral modification
numbing
Causing loss of sensation
- deadeningLessening intensity or sensitivity
- hardeningBecoming less soft
- callousnessCruel emotional indifference
detachment · indifference · apathy · coldness · unfeeling · blunting · dulling · compassion fatigue · dispassion · impassivity
exposure
State of being unprotected
- repetitionAct of redoing
- familiarityKnowledge through experience
- conditioningLearned behavioral adaptation
acclimation · routine · overexposure · saturation · normalizing · inurement · jadedness · staleness · monotony · adaptation
anesthetic
Pain-blocking substance
- analgesicPain-relieving medication
- topicalCurrently relevant or newsworthy
- lidocaineTopical numbing medication
novocaine · nerve block · local anesthesia · pain relief · numbness · sedation · allergy treatment · immunotherapy · antihistamine · injection site
shock value
Capacity to disturb
- normalizationAdjusting to a standard
- media saturationExcessive information coverage
- doom scrollingCompulsive consumption of distressing content
news fatigue · horror films · video games · violent imagery · gore · sensationalism · content warning
trauma processing
Addressing psychological injury effects
- PTSD treatmentAddressing psychological injury aftermath
- anxiety reductionLowering excessive worry
- exposure therapyAnxiety treatment through confrontation
coping mechanism · aversion therapy · counterconditioning · reprocessing · virtual reality therapy · systematic approach · clinical intervention · behavioral modification
desensitizestraumatizes
Inflicts lasting psychological damage
softens · tenderizes · humanizes · moves · touches
desensitizessensitizes
Makes responsive to stimuli
traumatizes · moves · touches · stirs · rouses
desensitize, desensitized, desensitization, desensitizing, desensitizer