desensitize

Constant warnings of collapse desensitize us to real dangers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

“One of the things that we teach them to do is to massage that over repeatedly throughout the day, to desensitize it,” April says.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2024

The pretreatment seemed to desensitize the animals to the hormone’s effects later on.

From Science Magazine ● Dec. 13, 2023

The simulations can help patients practice organizational and decision-making skills learned in cognitive behavioral therapy -- currently the standard treatment -- and desensitize them to the distress they feel when discarding.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2023

Then the treatment will desensitize it sufficiently and I can work on it without hurting you at all.'

From Cape Cod and All the Pilgrim Land, June 1922, Volume 6, Number 4 A Monthly Magazine Devoted to the Interests of Southeastern Massachusetts by Various

“We hear stuff like this all the time. It just desensitizes you to there being an actual threat, knock on wood.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026

“It desensitizes you to handcuffs, to steel, to concrete, to cold, to institutions,” said Roybal, now 38 and a physical therapist.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 10, 2023

Interestingly, a diet high in these foods also desensitizes the taste system, making animals and humans perceive food as less sweet.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2022

In addition to killing cavity-causing bacteria, the treatment hardens tooth structure, desensitizes the tooth and even stops new cavities from forming.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 11, 2020

The rap against video games is that the artificial violence they permit us desensitizes us to real violence.

From Slate ● Nov. 30, 2016

Wehniainen speculated that a difficult job market may have left candidates desensitized to interview rituals and discouraged about their chances.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

He explains how he believes Alcaraz’s tragic death likely came to be and how officers have become desensitized to issues afflicting America’s prisons.

From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026

Reactions to other recent reports have been muted as well, with investors seemingly desensitized to Nvidia’s big numbers.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 23, 2026

Investors have become desensitized to risk as the 2008-09 financial crisis fades from memory, Block believes.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2025

Rowan hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now he understood; it stopped being gleaning the moment one became desensitized to the act.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

Skylar King, who’s performing at the show, said she had a week of long conversations with her fellow performers on how to joke about climate change without desensitizing people to the seriousness of the topic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2024

Trainers begin by desensitizing the chimps to the sound, doling out bananas, Cheerios or other treats as it plays.

From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2023

In the 2009 study above, 17% of women reported experiencing low-grade desensitizing affects that lasted anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days.

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2023

It works by desensitizing the nerves in the skin that transmit an itch sensation.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 7, 2023

But this morning I noticed a real improvement when I went through the massage and desensitizing routine.

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen