antidote

[an-ti-doht]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR antidote ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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

Related formsan·ti·dot·al, an·ti·dot·i·cal

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

Can be confusedanecdote antedate antidote

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for antidote

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

Examples from the Web for antidote

Contemporary Examples of antidote

I highly doubt that anyone not already in a state of despair would look to war as an antidote to Godlessness.
There Are Only Atheists in Fox Holes
Michael Carson
October 5, 2014
Reformers understood that constructive societal evolution was the antidote to socialist revolution.
From The Square Deal to The New Deal: The Overlapping Political Identities of TR and FDR
John Avlon
September 9, 2014
“Accelerate this process,” said Royce, adding that the Free Syrian Army is the antidote to the ongoing expansion of ISIS in Syria.
After Steven Sotloff Murder, Congress Demands a Vote on Obama’s ISIS War
Josh Rogin
September 2, 2014
Qutb himself did not make the Caliphate central to his thought, but his disciples saw it as the only antidote to jahiliyyah.
Why the Caliphate Will Devour Its Children
Philip Jenkins
July 11, 2014
The antidote to both dangers—fireworks and drunk driving—is the same: tighter regulation.
How Not to Blow Yourself Up on July 4th
Kent Sepkowitz
July 3, 2014

Historical Examples of antidote

I only wished that my mother had been present to receive an antidote to Mrs. Coates.
Tales And Novels, Volume 9 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
Before she slept, I said, he must administer an antidote to Coates's poison.
Tales And Novels, Volume 9 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
Now, where can he find an antidote, who can teach him a healing formula?
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani
“Work is the only antidote,” said the Doctor, not moving his eyes.
Dr. Sevier
George W. Cable
You are mistaken about there being an antidote and a poison.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, August 1930
Various

British Dictionary definitions for antidote

antidote

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 Formsantidotal, 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

Word Origin and History for antidote

"remedy counteracting poison," 1510s (earlier in English as a Latin word), from Middle French antidot and directly from Latin antidotum "a remedy against poison," from Greek antidoton "given as a remedy," literally "given against," verbal adjective of antididonai "give in return," from anti- "against" + didonai "to give" (see date (n.1)). Cf. Middle English antidotarie "treatise on drugs or medicines" (c.1400).

antidote in Medicine