anesthesia

American  

[an-uhs-thee-zhuh] / ˌæn əsˈθi ʒə /

Or anaesthesia

noun

• anesthesias
  plural

1. Medicine/Medical. general or local insensibility, as to pain and other sensation, induced by certain interventions or drugs to permit the performance of surgery or other painful procedures.

2. Pathology. general loss of the senses of feeling, as pain, heat, cold, touch, and other less common varieties of sensation.

3. Psychiatry. absence of sensation due to psychological processes, as in conversion disorders.

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anesthesia British  

/ ˌænɪsˈθiːzɪə /

noun

1. the usual US spelling of anaesthesia

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anesthesia Scientific  

/ ăn′ĭs-thē′zhə /

1. Total or partial loss of sensation to touch or pain, caused by nerve injury or disease, or induced intentionally, especially by the administration of anesthetic drugs, to provide medical treatment. The first public use of ether to anesthetize a patient in Boston in 1846 initiated widespread acceptance of anesthetics in the Western world for surgical procedures and obstetrics. General anesthesia, administered as inhalation or intravenous agents, acts primarily on the brain, resulting in a temporary loss of consciousness. Regional or local anesthesia affects sensation in a specific anatomic area, and includes topical application of local anesthetics, blocking of peripheral nerves, spinal anesthesia, and epidural anesthesia, which is used commonly during childbirth.

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anesthesia Cultural  

1. Loss of sensation or consciousness. Anesthesia can be induced by an anesthetic, by acupuncture, or as the result of injury or disease.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• anesthesias
  plural

Etymology

Origin of anesthesia

1715–25; < New Latin < Greek anaisthēsía want of feeling. See an- ¹, esthesia

Compare meaning

How does anesthesia compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• anesthesia vs. anesthetic

Explanation

Anesthesia is a loss of sensation in a body part — or your entire body — caused by the administration of medication. If you're undergoing surgery, you'll need anesthesia to ensure you don't feel any pain during the procedure. Anesthesia, pronounced "an-es-THEE-zhuh," comes from the Greek word anaisthetos, meaning "without sensation." There are two kinds of anesthesia: local anesthesia numbs just part of your body, like when a dentist numbs your mouth before filling a cavity. General anesthesia makes you unaware and free of all sensation, like when you are having your spleen removed. The medication that causes the lack of sensation is called an anesthetic and the person who administers an anesthetic is an anesthesiologist.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

anesthesia anesthesias

The recordings were made while patients undergoing epilepsy surgery were under general anesthesia.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 29, 2026

She had told him about meeting an anesthesia provider who did sound baths in the operating room and had been on a podcast.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026

Others worry about the invasiveness of a colonoscopy and undergoing anesthesia or are too sick with a chronic disease to be sedated.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026

But what’s actually going on when you are under anesthesia?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026

When word of the discovery of anesthesia reached England, a London newspaper rejoiced, announcing, "We Have Conquered Pain."

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

Cardiac arrest and the anesthesias used in ERs are capable of triggering NDE-like brain states.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 7, 2012

About 40% of the anesthesias are given by members of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, about 45% by certified registered nurse anesthetists, and the remainder by other physicians, nurses or technicians.

From Time Magazine Archive

The dentists were interested because tic douloureux is often mistaken for jumping toothaches or nerve pain following extractions and dental anesthesias.

From Time Magazine Archive