Sensitive vs Specific - What's the difference?
sensitive | specific |
Having the faculty of sensation; pertaining to the senses.
*, III.1.2.i:
Responsive to stimuli.
Of a person, easily offended, upset or hurt.
Of an issue, capable of offending, upsetting or hurting.
Accurate (instrument).
One with a paranormal sensitivity to something that most cannot perceive.
* 2003 , Frederic W.H. Myers, Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death Part 2
explicit or definite
(sciences) Pertaining to a species.
*2008 , (Richard Dawkins), The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing , Oxford 2009, p. 3:
*:Science and literature, then, are the two achievements of Homo sapiens that most convincingly justify the specific name.
(taxonomy) pertaining to a taxon at the rank of species
special, distinctive or unique
intended for, or applying to a particular thing
being a remedy for a particular disease
* Coleridge
(immunology) limited to a particular antibody or antigen
(physics) of a value divided by mass (e.g. specific orbital energy)
(physics) similarly referring to a value divided by any measure which acts to standardize it (e.g. thrust specific fuel consumption, referring to fuel consumption divided by thrust)
(physics) a measure compared with a standard reference value by division, to produce a ratio without unit or dimension (e.g. specific refractive index is a pure number, and is relative to that of air)
A distinguishing attribute or quality.
Something particularly adapted for a particular use, as a remedy for a particular disorder
Specification
(in the plural) The details; particulars.
As adjectives the difference between sensitive and specific
is that sensitive is having the faculty of sensation; pertaining to the senses while specific is explicit or definite.As nouns the difference between sensitive and specific
is that sensitive is one with a paranormal sensitivity to something that most cannot perceive while specific is a distinguishing attribute or quality.sensitive
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- The sensitive faculty most part overrules reason, the soul is carried hoodwinked, and the understanding captive like a beast.
- Max is very sensitive ; he cried today because of the bad news.
- Religion is often a sensitive topic of discussion and should be avoided when dealing with foreign business associates.
Derived terms
* sensitively * sensitiveness * sensitivitySynonyms
* tender * nesh * precise * compassionate * caring * awareAntonyms
* insensitive * stoic * uncaring * resistantNoun
(en noun)- Swedenborg was one of the leading savants of Europe; it would be absurd to place any of our sensitives on the same intellectual level.
specific
English
Alternative forms
* specifick (obsolete)Adjective
(en adjective)- Quinine is a specific medicine in cases of malaria.
- In fact, all medicines will be found specific in the perfection of the science.