anesthetic
/ˌænəsˈθɛtɪk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.06 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A substance administered to reduce the perception of pain or to induce numbness for surgery and may render the recipient unconscious.
Canadian usage; American usage
Example Sentences
- "(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. […])"
- "Though physically capable of attaining sex rewards, he is anesthetic; though capable of aggression, he is meek; though capable of affection, he is cold and unresponsive."
- "He is anesthetic to their theological and political enthusiasms. He finds himself an alien at their feasts of soul."
- "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."
- "Modern anesthetics can be divided into several different groups according to how and where they act to reduce pain. During premedication, the anesthetist may give a patient drugs that make him or her feel relaxed and drowsy before the actual general anesthetic is administered."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Hellenic *ə- Ancient Greek ᾰ̓- (ă-) Ancient Greek ἀν- (an-)der. English an- Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewis-dʰh₁ Proto-Hellenic *awistʰomai Ancient Greek αἰσθάνομαι (aisthánomai) Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Hellenic *-tis Ancient Greek -τῐς (-tĭs) Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs) Ancient Greek αἴσθησῐς (aísthēsĭs) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) Ancient Greek -ῐκός (-ĭkós) Ancient Greek αἰσθητικός (aisthētikós)bor. Latin aesthēticusder. German Ästhetikder. ▲ New Latin aesthēticusbor. French esthétiqueder. English aesthetic English esthetic English anesthetic From an- + esthetic, or Latinized form of Ancient Greek ἀναίσθητος (anaísthētos, “insensible”) + -ic, from ἀν- (an-, “un-”) + αἰσθητικός (aisthētikós, “perceptible”).
Word Breakdown
Usage
Inflected Forms
more anesthetic (comparative)
most anesthetic (superlative)
anaesthetic (alternative, Commonwealth)
anæsthetic (alternative, dated)
anesthesic (alternative)
anesthetical (alternative, adjective)
anesthetics (plural)