anodyne

views updated May 18 2018

an·o·dyne / ˈanəˌdīn/ • adj. not likely to provoke dissent or offense; uncontentious or inoffensive, often deliberately so: anodyne new age music.• n. a pain-killing drug or medicine. ∎ fig. something that alleviates a person's mental distress: an anodyne to the misery she had put him through.

anodyne

views updated Jun 27 2018

anodyne (med.) assuaging pain. XVI. — L. anōdynus — Gr. anṓdynos free from pain, f. AN-2 + odúnē pain. Cf. F. anodin, -ine, perh. the immed. source.

anodyne

views updated May 18 2018

anodyne (an-ŏ-dyn) n. any treatment or drug that soothes and eases pain.