anodyne
Americannoun
-
a medicine that relieves or allays pain.
-
anything that relieves distress or pain.
The music was an anodyne to his grief.
adjective
-
relieving pain.
a book detailing the anodyne properties of certain plants.
-
soothing to the mind or feelings.
the anodyne effects of a month's vacation.
-
weakened and made bland, as to avoid harm or controversy.
anodyne explanations that shelter children from the brutal truth.
noun
-
a drug that relieves pain; analgesic
-
anything that alleviates mental distress
adjective
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing anodyne
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But in the midst of all that carnage, Trump had a more anodyne idea: Someone should really revive Cats.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
These might be helpful, anodyne retail chatbots; they also might be utter menaces like Google Docs’ Gemini pop-up.
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
There may still be time to rescue LA2028 from another anodyne, wholly wholesome Sam clone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
Having spent years listening to Cubans repeat anodyne revolutionary slogans when asked for their opinions on camera, it's disarming to hear such frank views expressed with no outward fear of the repercussions.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026
It was one anodyne sentence that caught her attention now—not for what it said, but for what it blandly tried to conceal.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
