Anodyne
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /ˈanədʌɪn/
- US IPA: /ˈæ.nə.daɪn/
- Rhymes: -aɪn
Origin
From Latin anÅdynus ("painless"), from Ancient Greek ἀνώδυνος (anÅdynos, "free from pain"), from ἀν- (an-, "without") + ὀδÏνη (odynÄ“, "pain").
Full definition of anodyne
Adjective
anodyne
- Capable of soothing or eliminating pain. from 16th c.
- 1847, Littell's Living Age, number 161, 12 June 1847, in Volume 13, page 483: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.
- 1910, Edward L. Keyes, Diseases of the Genito-Urinary Organs, page 211:The citrate is the most efficient as an alkali, but irritates some stomachs, the liquor the most anodyne, the acetate the most diuretic.
- (figuratively) Soothing or relaxing. from 18th c.Classical music is rather anodyne.
- Noncontentious, blandly agreeable, unlikely to cause offence or debate; bland, inoffensive. from 20th c.
- 2003, The Guardian, 20 May 2003:It all became so routine, so anodyne, so dull.
- 2010, "Rattled", The Economist, 9 Dec 2010:States typically like to stick to anodyne messages, like saving wildflowers or animals. But every so often a controversy crops up.
Noun
anodyne
(plural anodynes)- (pharmacology) Any medicine or other agent that relieves pain.
- (figuratively) A source of relaxation or comfort.
- 1890, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, ch. VII:The air was heavy with the perfume of the flowers, and their beauty seemed to bring him an anodyne for his pain.
- 1929, Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own, page 79:So, with a sigh, because novels so often provide an anodyne and not an antidote, glide one into torpid slumbers instead of rousing one with a burning brand.