Anesthetic

//ˌænəsˈθɛtɪk// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A substance administered to reduce the perception of pain or to induce numbness for surgery and may render the recipient unconscious. Canada, US

    "After a local anesthetic is applied to the eye, do not rub or wipe the eye until the anesthetic has worn off and feeling in the eye returns."

  2. 2
    a drug that causes temporary loss of bodily sensations wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Causing anesthesia; reducing pain sensitivity. Canada, US
  2. 2
    Insensate: unable to feel, or unconscious. Canada, US

    "(I find that he is analgesic and anaesthetic; evidently he is in a state of passive somnambulism.) E. A. Did you feel anybody touch you? K. No. There's no one near me. (He continues laughing and talking. […])"

Adjective
  1. 1
    characterized by insensibility wordnet
  2. 2
    relating to or producing insensibility wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
alleviatingalleviativeanaestheticanaestheticanaestheticanaesthetic agent

Example

More examples

"He lost consciousness under the influence of the anesthetic."

Etymology

From an- + esthetic, or Latinized form of Ancient Greek ἀναίσθητος (anaísthētos, “insensible”) + -ic, from ἀν- (an-, “un-”) + αἰσθητικός (aisthētikós, “perceptible”).

Related phrases

general anaestheticgeneral anestheticlocal anaestheticlocal anesthetic

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.