susceptibility

Word relationships

• proneness: A tendency to suffer from something or behave in a particular way.
• liability: The state of being responsible for something, or the likelihood of something happening.

• resistance: The refusal to accept or comply with something; the ability not to be affected by something.
• immunity: The ability of an organism to resist a particular infection or toxin.

Commonly confused with

• vulnerability: Susceptibility is the 'openness' to a threat; vulnerability is the 'weakness' once the threat hits.

Word family

• susceptible (adjective): Likely or liable to be influenced or harmed by a particular thing.

Collocations

• increased susceptibility
• genetic susceptibility
• susceptibility to disease
• susceptibility to influence

Example sentences

• "Genetic factors can increase an individual's susceptibility to certain types of cancer." Medicine
• "The region's susceptibility to landslides is due to its steep slopes and loose soil composition." Geology

Memory hook

Think of a 'Scepter': if you are 'susceptible', you are ready to 'accept' (take) the blow. Susceptibility is being 'able to accept' harm.

When not to use

Avoid using it to mean 'vulnerability' if you are talking about the ability to cope; susceptibility is just about the likelihood of being hit.

Fun facts

• In physics, 'Magnetic Susceptibility' measures how much a material will become magnetized in an applied magnetic field.
• The word was once used to mean 'capable of receiving an impression', like wax.

Related words

vulnerability, sustainability

Explore more words

vulnerability, predisposition, vulnerable, Exposure, pathogenesis, morbidity

Also appears in

• Health Sciences → Immunology & Clinical Genetics