responsive

responsive — adjective

1. giving a fast, constructive reaction when someone speaks, acts, or makes a reque

1.形容詞B2
釋義

giving a fast, constructive reaction when someone speaks, acts, or makes a request, or when circumstances shift

例句

Jin was very responsive to customer feedback and quickly changed the menu.

responsive to + feedback

The school's staff are responsive to the needs of children with disabilities.

responsive to + needs of [group]

同義詞
  • receptive

    focuses on willingness to accept new ideas or suggestions, not necessarily acting on them

  • reactive

    simply implies acting in response, but can carry a negative sense of only acting after a problem arises

  • attentive

    emphasises careful listening or watching, not necessarily the speed of reaction

反義詞
  • unresponsive

    the direct opposite; failing to react or showing no interest

文法句型

responsive + to + noun phrase

responsive + noun

用法筆記

Commonly paired with 'to' + noun phrase naming the stimulus (feedback, needs, demand, change). When used attributively before a noun (e.g., 'responsive reply', 'responsive approach'), the meaning focuses on the quality of the reaction rather than the actor.

常見錯誤

❌The manager was responsible to customer complaints.
✅The manager was responsive to customer complaints.
💡'responsible to' means having a duty toward; 'responsive to' means reacting quickly and helpfully.
❌She gave a response reply.
✅She gave a responsive reply.
💡'response' is a noun; 'responsive' is the adjective form.

2. (of a disease, symptom, or affected body part) showing improvement or healing in

2.形容詞C1
釋義

(of a disease, symptom, or affected body part) showing improvement or healing in reaction to a particular drug or medical procedure

例句

The patient's tumour was responsive to the new chemotherapy drug.

responsive to treatment (medical context)

Dr. Hamza noted that the infection was responsive to antibiotics within two days.

同義詞
  • treatable

    broader in scope — treatable means a cure or improvement is possible, without specifying whether the condition actually reacts to a particular drug

  • curable

    stronger than responsive — implies complete elimination of the disease, not just improvement

反義詞
  • resistant

    the standard antonym in medical contexts, e.g., drug-resistant infection; implies the treatment has no effect

文法句型

be responsive to + treatment/drug/therapy

用法筆記

Used predicatively — the adjective follows the verb 'be', 'become', or 'remain' and is almost never placed before a noun in this sense. The subject is typically a medical condition (tumour, infection, rash) rather than a person, though 'patient' may appear as a metonym.

常見錯誤

❌The patient is responsive to the new drug.' (meaning the patient's condition improves)
✅The patient's condition / tumour is responsive to the new drug.
💡'responsive' in this medical sense describes the disease or symptom, not the person in everyday contexts.