resensitize

verb

re·​sen·​si·​tize (ˌ)rē-ˈsen(t)-sə-ˌtīz 

variants or re-sensitize

resensitized or re-sensitized; resensitizing or re-sensitizing

transitive verb

: to make (someone or something) sensitive to something (such as a drug, allergen, or stimulus) again or anew

The receptors may then be returned to the membrane in a process that resensitizes the cell to opioid binding.

—Edward W. Boyer

I can't really tell if the repeated images desensitize me or re-sensitize me to violence—probably both, one after the other, every time the pictures go by.

—Geoff Nunberg

resensitization

(ˌ)rē-ˌsen(t)-sə-tə-ˈzā-shən 

-ˌsen(t)s-tə-ˈzā-

noun

plural resensitizations

resensitization of cell receptors

resensitization to previous chemotherapy

Word History

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined above