DEFENSIVENESS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Excessive sensitivity to criticism

Example:

the fear of being sued for malpractice has magnified physicians' defensiveness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("defensiveness" is a kind of...):

sensitiveness; sensitivity (the ability to respond to affective changes in your interpersonal environment)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "defensiveness"):

bunker mentality (defensiveness resulting from repeated attacks)

Credits