Definition of "sensitize"

sensitize

verb
third-person singular simple present sensitizes, present participle sensitizing, simple past and past participle sensitized
1. To make (someone or something) sensitive or responsive to certain stimuli.
  Quotations
  Anaphylaxis is the syndrome elicited in a hypersensitive subject upon subsequent exposure to the sensitizing antigen.
  1999, Michael A. Kaliner, “12: Anaphylaxis”, in Marianne Frieri, Brett Kettelhut, editors, Food Hypersensitivity and Adverse Reactions, page 257
  Great emphasis should be placed on sensitizing the hands to the feel of the water, and the hands should remain sensitized throughout the workout. […] Swimmers should sensitize the hands at the beginning of every workout by swimming the first 200 meters with their fists tightly clenched.
  2002, Cecil Colwin, Breakthrough Swimming, page 117
  Again, I strongly recommend that you sensitize your collodion-coated plates in a tank, rather than a tray, as it is safer, cleaner, and more process-efficient.
  2015, Christopher James, The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes, page 441
2. To make (someone) increasingly aware of, in a concerned or sensitive way.
  Quotations
  At least two stations have been sensitized towards the position gay media professionals […] have to take to protect their job security.
  1974 April 13, “Media Message”, in Gay Community News, page 8
3. (transitive) To render capable of being acted on by actinic rays of light.