anaesthesia
Americannoun
noun
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local or general loss of bodily sensation, esp of touch, as the result of nerve damage or other abnormality
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loss of sensation, esp of pain, induced by drugs: called general anaesthesia when consciousness is lost and local anaesthesia when only a specific area of the body is involved
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a general dullness or lack of feeling
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of anaesthesia
C19: from New Latin, from Greek anaisthēsia absence of sensation, from an- + aisthēsis feeling
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.
Gilby, who had previously been a medic, a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care, hoped she had several years to go working for the health service before she was forced out.
From BBC • Jan. 15, 2026
To understand why the researchers turned to music, it helps to decode the modern practice of anaesthesia.
From BBC • Nov. 24, 2025
"General anaesthesia plus blocks is the norm," says Dr Tanvi Goel, primary investigator and a former senior resident of Maulana Azad Medical College.
From BBC • Nov. 24, 2025
But its entry into the intensely technical, machine-governed world of anaesthesia marks a quiet shift.
From BBC • Nov. 24, 2025
Come back around 5 o’clock, he had said, when Finny should be coming out of the anaesthesia.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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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.