anodyne

American  

[an-uh-dahyn] / ˈæn əˌdaɪn /

noun

1. a medicine that relieves or allays pain.

2. anything that relieves distress or pain.

   The music was an anodyne to his grief.

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adjective

1. relieving pain.

   a book detailing the anodyne properties of certain plants.

2. soothing to the mind or feelings.

   the anodyne effects of a month's vacation.

3. weakened and made bland, as to avoid harm or controversy.

   anodyne explanations that shelter children from the brutal truth.

anodyne British  

/ ˈænəˌdaɪn /

noun

1. a drug that relieves pain; analgesic

2. anything that alleviates mental distress

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adjective

1. capable of relieving pain or distress

Other Word Forms

• anodynic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of anodyne

First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin anōdynus, from Greek anṓdynos “free from pain, soothing pain,” equivalent to an- + ōdyn- (stem of odýnē “pain,” with lengthening of o ) + -os adjective suffix; cf. an- ¹, -odynia ( def. )

Explanation

When your back is killing you from helping your friend move furniture into his new apartment, you need to take an anodyne, a painkiller. An anodyne doesn’t have to be actual medicine. If the pure joy of helping your friend is soothing enough to make you forget your aching back, that counts as an anodyne too (though perhaps an unlikely one). Anodyne can also be used as an adjective to describe something that relieves pain, or is at least inoffensive. When you’re stressed out or unhappy, try looking at anodyne pictures of kittens. Er, unless you had a bad experience with a cat once.

Example Sentences

Anodyne still lifes and depopulated landscapes curdle into premonitions of disaster.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2018

At the Anodyne site in North Miami Beach on Friday, the AP found three sealed steel drums labeled as being filled with “IDW” soil and water in the open, weed-covered field behind a building.

From Washington Times • Sep. 9, 2017

It serves single-origin coffee from Milwaukee’s Anodyne Coffee.

From New York Times • Jul. 31, 2014

A Second murmured, "Surely we might learn Some undiminished Anodyne to burn, For ne'er a Smoker puffed a good Cigar But wished Another Like It might return."

From The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Jr. by Irwin, Wallace

For every thirsty soul that drains This Anodyne of Thought its rim contains— Freewill the can, Necessity the must; Pour off the must, and see, the can remains.

From Collections and Recollections by Russell, George William Erskine