antidote

[ an-ti-doht ]

/ ˈæn tɪˌdoʊt /

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.

Nearby words

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
“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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
But for every poison of the enemy there's an antidote and we have found it.
With Our Soldiers in France|Sherwood Eddy
He takes an interest in you, and feels that the paragraph may not do you any harm in the way of antidote.
Rambles in Womanland|Max O'Rell
Not that they criticise you so much at the moment, particularly if you appear as an antidote to Dryasdust.
The Confessions of a Caricaturist, Vol 2 (of 2)|Harry Furniss
To make the antidote effective, I should say, increase the quantity of the dose; administer very frequently!
Solaris Farm|Milan C. Edson
A man who has been poisoned only need neglect the antidote and he will die.
Natural Law in the Spiritual World|Henry Drummond

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 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

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).

Medicine definitions for antidote