oversensitive
adjective
over·sen·si·tive
ˌō-vər-ˈsen(t)-sə-tiv 
-ˈsen(t)s-təv
: excessively sensitive: such as
a
: too easily bothered, upset, offended, etc.
an oversensitive person
oversensitive about his looks
She's oversensitive to criticism.
It is not enough to say "I was only joking", and you ought not to suggest that the recipient is being oversensitive or thin-skinned.—
Maureen Matthews
Maureen Matthews
b
: excessively or abnormally susceptible or responsive to a particular agent or stimulus (such as a drug, antigen, or sound)
Many infants, they have found, are oversensitive … to such sensations as sound, touch, light.—D. Gelman
D. GelmanIn around 90 per cent of cases, rhinitis is caused by allergy. The immune system is oversensitive to substances such as pollen, firing off antibodies which should normally be reserved for infections.—Martin Scurr
Martin Scurr
c
of an instrument or device
: too responsive to or likely to register minute quantities, effects, etc.
an oversensitive smoke detector
an oversensitive microphone
oversensitiveness
ˌō-vər-ˈsen(t)-sə-tiv-nəs
noun
-ˈsen(t)s-təv-
… he has not as yet overcome his youthful oversensitiveness and propensity to depression.
—Erik Tawaststjerna
Erik Tawaststjerna
oversensitivity
noun
It's not unusual to feel dizzy or have problems balancing and an oversensitivity to light or noise.
—Juliet McGrattan
Juliet McGrattan
The 10- to 17-year-olds who were questioned in this survey felt they had a right to control their own digital footprint. Should these wishes be respected or dismissed as simply the oversensitivity of teenagers?
—Gregory Ramey
Gregory Ramey
Examples of oversensitive in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Most commenters on the TSR post agreed that Yung Miami meant no disrespect and that Lizzo was being a little oversensitive.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2025
The 8th and 9th are full of good energy, but everyone seems to be feeling oversensitive near the 13th.
—Katharine Merlin, Town & Country, 1 Sep. 2023
My Feelings’ is that the entire movie turns into a satire of what has become our fetishistically supportive and oversensitive therapeutic culture of positivity.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 16 May 2023
Can people be oversensitive?
—Clay Cane, CNN, 5 Apr. 2023
Automated software looks for moving blips of light, checks them against possible false positives like subatomic particles from space zapping the detector, oversensitive pixels, and the like.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 31 Mar. 2023
Suzanne Cryer as the oversensitive poet and Cedric Yarbrough as the professor who refuses to indulge her are amusing, and so is Shannon DeVido as a film professor whose response to Saunders is a hoot.
—Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, 15 Mar. 2023
Students are often accused of being oversensitive, but Professor Wax’s colleagues have shared their own uncomfortable moments with her in public forums.
—Vimal Patel, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2023
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Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2025
The 8th and 9th are full of good energy, but everyone seems to be feeling oversensitive near the 13th.
—Katharine Merlin, Town & Country, 1 Sep. 2023
My Feelings’ is that the entire movie turns into a satire of what has become our fetishistically supportive and oversensitive therapeutic culture of positivity.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 16 May 2023
Can people be oversensitive?
—Clay Cane, CNN, 5 Apr. 2023
Automated software looks for moving blips of light, checks them against possible false positives like subatomic particles from space zapping the detector, oversensitive pixels, and the like.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 31 Mar. 2023
Suzanne Cryer as the oversensitive poet and Cedric Yarbrough as the professor who refuses to indulge her are amusing, and so is Shannon DeVido as a film professor whose response to Saunders is a hoot.
—Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, 15 Mar. 2023
Students are often accused of being oversensitive, but Professor Wax’s colleagues have shared their own uncomfortable moments with her in public forums.
—Vimal Patel, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Oversensitive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oversensitive. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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