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anesthetic

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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    From an- +‎ esthetic,[1] or Latinized form of Ancient Greek ἀναίσθητος (anaísthētos, insensible) +‎ -ic,[2] from ἀν- (an-, un-) + αἰσθητικός (aisthētikós, perceptible).

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /ˌænəsˈθɛtɪk/, (nonstandard) /ˌænəsˈtɛtɪk/
    • Audio (US):(file)
    • Rhymes: -ɛtɪk

    Adjective

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    anesthetic (comparative more anesthetic, superlative most anesthetic) (American spelling, Canadian spelling)

    1. Causing anesthesia; reducing pain sensitivity.
    2. Insensate: unable to feel, or unconscious.
      • 1924, Maurice Walter Keatinge, Suggestion in Education:
        (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. [] )
      • 1984, B. R. Hergenhahn, An Introduction to Theories of Personality, Prentice Hall:
        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.
      • 2012, H.L. Mencken, Mencken Chrestomathy, Vintage, →ISBN, page 189:
        He is anesthetic to their theological and political enthusiasms. He finds himself an alien at their feasts of soul.

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    Noun

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    anesthetic (plural anesthetics)

    1. (American spelling, medicine) A substance administered to reduce the perception of pain or to induce numbness for surgery and may render the recipient unconscious.
      • 1994, Anesthetics (Ophthalmic) (original version), Drugs.com:
        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.
      • 2004, David B. Jacoby, R. M. Youngson, Encyclopedia of Family Health, Marshall Cavendish, page 91:
        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.

    Translations

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    References

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    • "Anesthetics", 2010 MeSH, National Library of Medicine.
    1. ^ anaesthetic | anesthetic, adj. and n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
    2. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “anesthetic (adj.)”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

    Further reading

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    Anagrams

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