Anodyne
adj, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Any medicine or other agent that relieves pain.
- 2 a medicine used to relieve pain wordnet
- 3 A source of relaxation or comfort. figuratively
"Nor do I mean to say that Virtue is not Virtue because it is never tempted to go astray; only that dulness is a much finer gift than we give it credit for being; and that some people are very lucky whom Nature has endowed with a good store of that great anodyne."
- 1 Capable of soothing or eliminating pain.
"Many a time has the vapor of ether been inhaled for the relief of oppressed lungs; many a time has the sought relief been thus obtained; and just so many times has the discovery of the wonderful anodyne properties of this gas, as affecting all bodily suffering, been brushed past and overlooked."
- 2 Soothing or relaxing. figuratively
"Classical music is rather anodyne."
- 3 Noncontentious, blandly agreeable, unlikely to cause offence or debate. broadly
"It all became so routine, so anodyne, so dull."
- 1 capable of relieving pain wordnet
Example
More examples"Many a time has the vapor of ether been inhaled for the relief of oppressed lungs; many a time has the sought relief been thus obtained; and just so many times has the discovery of the wonderful anodyne properties of this gas, as affecting all bodily suffering, been brushed past and overlooked."
Etymology
From Middle English anodine, from Medieval Latin anōdynos (“stilling or relieving pain”), from Ancient Greek ἀνώδυνος (anṓdunos, “free from pain”), from ἀν- (an-, “without”) + ὀδύνη (odúnē, “pain”). Adjective sense “noncontentious” probably through French anodin (“harmless, trivial”), of same origin.
Related phrases
More for "anodyne"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.