antidote

[an-ti-doht]

noun

1. a medicine or other remedy for counteracting the effects of poison, disease, etc.

2. something that prevents or counteracts injurious or unwanted effects.

   Good jobs are the best antidote to teenage crime.

verb (used with object)

antidoted, antidoting 

1. to counteract with an antidote.

   Medication was given to antidote the poison the child had swallowed.

antidote

/ ˈæntɪˌdəʊt /

noun

1. med a drug or agent that counteracts or neutralizes the effects of a poison

2. anything that counteracts or relieves a harmful or unwanted condition; remedy

antidote

1. A substance that counteracts the effects of a poison.

Other Word Forms

• antidotal adjective
• antidotical adjective
• antidotally adverb
• antidotically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of antidote¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of antidote¹

C15: from Latin antidotum, from Greek antidoton something given as a countermeasure, from _anti- + didonai to give

Example Sentences

After years of demanding jobs, caretaking or the death of a spouse, the volunteers say the group provides a sense of purpose and is an antidote to loneliness.

From Los Angeles Times

Watching the rise of Trumpism and American neofascism, I am repeatedly convinced that “being American” will not be the antidote that Murphy and other observers hope it will be.

From Salon

For him, it was the perfect antidote to the isolation he was feeling.

From Los Angeles Times

Soho House started in London in the mid-90s as an antidote to the upscale gentlemen's clubs that lined Pall Mall.

From BBC

In their book “Invading Babylon: The 7 Mountain Mandate,” Wallnau and Johnson explicitly call for Christian leadership as the only antidote to perceived moral decay and spiritual darkness.

From Salon

Related Words

• corrective 
• countermeasure 
• cure 
• remedy