Defensive
Sensitive
Sensitive adjective - Able to sense slight impressions or differences.
Defensive and sensitive are semantically related in touchy topic. Sometimes you can use "Defensive" instead an adjective "Sensitive", if it concerns topics such as easily offended.
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
- alert and defensive
- alert and sensitive
- warm and defensive
- warm and sensitive
- touchy and defensive
- touchy and sensitive
- observant and defensive
- observant and sensitive
- careful and defensive
- careful and sensitive
- umbrageous and defensive
- umbrageous and sensitive
- neurotic and defensive
- neurotic and sensitive
Both words in one sentence
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In fact, Damon was so defensive and sensitive to criticism, Damon and Ramsay almost had a fight over it.
Source: Series / Kitchen Nightmares -
ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning show uses this trope, with Mike Golic (a former NFL defensive lineman) as the manly man and Mike Greenberg as the Sensitive Guy.
Source: Sensitive Guy and Manly Man -
Just about every Force-sensitive player character in the Star Wars video games can be this, gaining access to both defensive "Light" powers like Force Heal or Force Speed and offensive "Dark" powers like Force Choke or Force Lightning.
Source: The Red Mage
Cite this Source
Sensitive and Defensive. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/defensive/sensitive
Defensive & Sensitive. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/defensive/sensitive>.
Sensitive or Defensive. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/defensive/sensitive.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "defensive" and "sensitive" have occurred on timeline