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Allergy vs Sensitivity - What's the difference?

allergy | sensitivity |

As nouns the difference between allergy and sensitivity

is that allergy is a disorder of the immune system causing adverse reactions to substances (allergens) not harmful to most and marked by the body's production of histamines and associated with atopy, anaphylaxis, and asthma while sensitivity is the quality of being sensitive.

allergy

English

(wikipedia allergy)

Noun

(allergies)
  • (pathology, immunology) A disorder of the immune system causing adverse reactions to substances (allergens) not harmful to most and marked by the body's production of histamines and associated with atopy, anaphylaxis, and asthma.
  • (pathology) Any condition of hypersensitivity to a substance.
  • Altered susceptibility to a first treatment as exhibited in reaction to a subsequent one.
  • (informal) An antipathy, as toward a person or activity.
    • He has an allergy to reality TV.

    Synonyms

    * (disorder of the immune system) * (hypersensitivity) intolerance

    Hypernyms

    * (disorder of the immune system) hypersensitivity

    Derived terms

    * allergen * allergic * allergologist * allergology

    See also

    * ("allergy" on Wikipedia) * (Hypersensitivity)

    Anagrams

    * gallery, largely, regally

    sensitivity

    English

    Noun

    (wikipedia sensitivity) (sensitivities)
  • The quality of being sensitive.
  • The ability of an organism or organ to respond to external stimuli.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Fenella Saunders, magazine=(American Scientist)
    • , title= Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture , passage=The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity . They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.}}
  • (statistics) The proportion of individuals in a population that will be correctly identified in a binary classification test.
  • (electronics) The degree of response of an instrument to a change in an input signal.
  • (photography) The degree of response of a film etc. to light of a specified wavelength.