antidote
Americannoun
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a medicine or other remedy for counteracting the effects of poison, disease, etc.
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something that prevents or counteracts injurious or unwanted effects.
Good jobs are the best antidote to teenage crime.
verb (used with object)
noun
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med a drug or agent that counteracts or neutralizes the effects of a poison
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anything that counteracts or relieves a harmful or unwanted condition; remedy
Other Word Forms
- antidotal adjective
- antidotally adverb
- antidotical adjective
- antidotically adverb
Etymology
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
Compare meaning
How does antidote compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She perhaps represents a refreshing antidote to the kind of cooks whose recipes involve complicated ingredients you have to hunt for in a deli - instead, expect to find Marmite, fish fingers or frozen peas.
From BBC
“The antidote to addiction is community,” Boyle said.
From Los Angeles Times
That is more than twice the share who identified price increases, marketing spending, or mergers and acquisitions to boost profitability as the antidote to uncertainty.
From Barron's
For the past five years, The Liana Trust has been studying venoms from species beyond the big four to develop antidotes to them.
From BBC
“What if it’s true? That potion—you could take the antidote! You could know all the secrets of the universe! You could remember everything, forever!”
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
