anaesthetic
noun/ˌænəsˈθetɪk/
/ˌænəsˈθetɪk/
(US English anesthetic)
[uncountable, countable]- a drug that makes a person or an animal unable to feel anything, especially pain, either in the whole body or in a part of the body
- under anaesthetic How long will I be under anaesthetic?
- They gave him a general anaesthetic (= one that makes you become unconscious).
- (a) local anaesthetic (= one that affects only a part of the body)
- We forget what life must have been like without anaesthetics and painkillers.
Extra ExamplesTopics Healthcarec1- It would have to be done under anaesthetic.
- The anaesthetic began to take effect.
- They had to operate without anaesthetic.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- general
- local
- administer
- give somebody
- inject
- …
- take effect
- work
- wear off
- …
- under (an/the) anaesthetic
- without (an/the) anaesthetic
Word Originmid 19th cent.: from Greek anaisthētos ‘insensible’, related to anaisthēsia, (from an- ‘without’ + aisthēsis ‘sensation’) + -ic.Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
anaesthetic