susceptibility
/səˌsɛptɪˈbɪlɪti
/noun (plural susceptibilities)
1 [mass noun] The state or fact of being likely or liable to be influenced or harmed by a particular thing: lack of exercise increases susceptibility to disease...
- The second major issue investigated was the influence of emotionality on susceptibility to memory distortion.
- Reid agrees that the swarming nature of krill likely increases their susceptibility to the parasites.
- As well as affecting the way we judge other people, moods also influence our susceptibility to weak arguments.
Synonyms
vulnerability, sensitivity, openness, defencelessness, receptiveness, responsiveness
liability, vulnerability, inclination;
predisposition, proneness, propensity, weakness;
likelihood
2 (susceptibilities) A person’s feelings, typically considered as being easily hurt: I was so careful not to offend their susceptibilities...
- A man who rode roughshod over the feelings and susceptibilities of others was said to be ambitious; a woman who did the same was branded as arrogant.
- What if, Munro seems to say, the romantic susceptibilities of an inexperienced young woman were to be exposed to the comic doublings of a Twelfth Night or The Comedy of Errors?
- The king also had a habit of making provocative remarks which offended the susceptibilities of more scrupulous clergy and he lacked the sincerity of belief which had ensured his father's good relations with the church.
3 Physics The ratio of magnetization produced in a material to the magnetizing force.At each step the magnetic susceptibility was measured to detect possible mineralogical transformations....
- It is noteworthy that such high magnetic susceptibilities are absent in many of the other granitoids of the Hercynian belt.
- Magnetic susceptibility indicates the ease of magnetization of a sample.