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antidote

[ an-ti-doht ]
/ ˈæn tɪˌdoʊt /
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noun
a medicine or other remedy for counteracting the effects of poison, disease, etc.
something that prevents or counteracts injurious or unwanted effects: Good jobs are the best antidote to teenage crime.
verb (used with object), an·ti·dot·ed, an·ti·dot·ing.
to counteract with an antidote: Medication was given to antidote the poison the child had swallowed.
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Origin of antidote

1400–50; late Middle English (<Middle French ) <Latin antidotum<Greek antídoton something given against (i.e., for counteracting), equivalent to anti-anti- + dotón neuter of dotós given, verbid of didónai to give; akin to datum

OTHER WORDS FROM antidote

an·ti·dot·al, an·ti·dot·i·cal [an-ti-dot-i-kuhl], /ˌæn tɪˈdɒt ɪ kəl/, adjectivean·ti·dot·al·ly, an·ti·dot·i·cal·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH antidote

anecdote, antedate, antidote
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to antidote

corrective, countermeasure, cure, remedy, antitoxin, antivenin, medicine, nullifier, preventive, counteractant, counteragent, counterstep, negator, neutralizer

How to use antidote in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for antidote

antidote
/ (ˈæntɪˌdəʊt) /
noun
med a drug or agent that counteracts or neutralizes the effects of a poison
anything that counteracts or relieves a harmful or unwanted condition; remedy

Derived forms of antidote

antidotal, adjective

Word Origin for antidote

C15: from Latin antidotum, from Greek antidoton something given as a countermeasure, from anti- + didonai to give
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for antidote

antidote
[ ăn′tĭ-dōt′ ]
A substance that counteracts the effects of a poison.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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