susceptibility

sus·cep·ti·bil·i·ty

noun \sə-ˌsep-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē\

plural sus·cep·ti·bil·i·ties

Definition of SUSCEPTIBILITY

1

: the quality or state of being susceptible; especially : lack of ability to resist some extraneous agent (as a pathogen or drug) : sensitivity

2

a : a susceptible temperament or constitution

b plural : feelings, sensibilities

3

a : the ratio of the magnetization in a substance to the corresponding magnetizing force

b : the ratio of the electric polarization to the electric intensity in a polarized dielectric

Examples of SUSCEPTIBILITY

1. A weak immune system causes increased susceptibility to disease.
2. <his aunt's unfortunate susceptibility to viruses meant she was nearly always sick>

First Known Use of SUSCEPTIBILITY

1644

Related to SUSCEPTIBILITY

Synonyms

defenselessness, vulnerability, weakness

Antonyms

invulnerability

Related Words

helplessness, powerlessness; passiveness, passivity; feebleness, frailness, frailty, infirmity; exposure, liability, openness, predisposition, proneness, sensitivity; receptiveness, receptivity; easiness, gullibility, naïveté (also naivete or naiveté); credulity, credulousness

Near Antonyms

immunity; impenetrability, indomitability, indomitableness, invincibility

Rhymes with SUSCEPTIBILITY

acceptability, accessibility, accountability, adaptability, adjustability, advisability, affordability, agreeability, attainability, availability, believability, compatibility, deniability, dependability, desirability, electability, eligibility, excitability, expendability, illegibility, immutability, implausibility, impossibility, improbability, incapability, infallibility, inflexibility, invisibility, manageability, marketability, measurability, navigability, permissibility, practicability, predictability, profitability, public utility, reliability, respectability, responsibility, reusability, separability, strict liability, survivability, sustainability, upward mobility, variability, vulnerability

sus·cep·ti·bil·i·ty

noun \sə-ˌsep-tə-ˈbil-ət-ē\   (Medical Dictionary)

plural sus·cep·ti·bil·i·ties

Medical Definition of SUSCEPTIBILITY

1

: the quality or state of being susceptible : the state of being predisposed to, sensitive to, or of lacking the ability to resist something (as a pathogen, familial disease, or a drug) : sensitivity

2

a : the ratio of the magnetization in a substance to the corresponding magnetizing force—see paramagnetic b : the ratio of the electric polarization to the electric intensity in a polarized dielectric