antidote
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a medicine that you take to stop a poison from hurting you.
n.a substance that neutralises the effects of a specific poison or toxin within the body.
Simple“The doctors quickly gave him the antidote after the snake bit him.”
In context“Emergency protocols require the hospital to maintain a supply of the specific antidote for every venomous species native to the region.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'to' or 'for'.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.something that helps to stop or fix a bad feeling or situation.
n.a figurative remedy that counteracts or prevents something harmful, unpleasant, or undesirable.
Simple“A long walk in the park was the perfect antidote to a stressful day at work.”
In context“The CEO argued that transparency was the only effective antidote to the growing culture of mistrust within the department.”
UsageCommonly follows the pattern 'antidote to [noun]'.
SynonymsAntonymscatalystaggravant - 03 C2 Proficiency
v.to act against something bad to stop its effects.
v.to counteract or neutralise something in the manner of a medical remedy.
Simple“The new policy was designed to antidote the negative effects of the previous law.”
In context“The philosopher sought to antidote the prevailing nihilism of his era through a rigorous re-examination of traditional ethics.”
Teacher's tipThe verb form is rare in modern speech; learners should focus on the noun form for daily use.
Synonyms
“One antidote to this drive is to embrace a slower way of living.”
From Latin antidotum, from Ancient Greek ἀντίδοτος (antídotos, “antidote, remedy”), from ἀντιδίδωμι (antidídōmi, “I give in return, repay”), from ἀντί (antí, “against”) + δίδωμι (dídōmi, “I give”). Compare French antidote.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.