anesthetic
n. C / Un. a drug or gas that doctors use to make you not feel pain during an operation. It can make a small area numb or put you into a deep sleep.
n. a substance that induces a reversible loss of sensation or consciousness, typically administered before a surgical procedure. Often categorized as either local, affecting a specific area, or general, affecting the entire body.
The dentist gave me a local anesthetic before filling the cavity.
Before the surgery began, the medical team administered a general anesthetic to ensure the patient remained unconscious and pain-free.
Advances in pharmacology have led to the development of modern anesthetics that offer rapid onset and minimal side effects, significantly improving patient recovery times after major operations.
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 αἰσθᾰ́νομαι (aisthắnomai) Proto-Indo-European *-tis Ancient Greek -τις (-tis) Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs) Ancient Greek αἴσθησῐς (aísthēsĭs) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) Ancient Greek -ῐκός (-ĭkós) Ancient Greek αἰσθητῐκός (aisthētĭkós)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”).
Can be used as a countable noun for specific types of drugs or as an uncountable noun for the substance in general.