anesthetic

American  

[an-uhs-thet-ik] / ˌæn əsˈθɛt ɪk /

Or anaesthetic

noun

anesthetics plural

1. a substance that produces anesthesia, as halothane, procaine, or ether.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or causing physical insensibility.

   an anesthetic gas.

2. physically insensitive.

   Halothane is used to produce an anesthetic state.

anesthetic British  

/ ˌænɪsˈθɛtɪk /

noun

1. the usual US spelling of anaesthetic

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anesthetic Scientific  

/ ăn′ĭs-thĕt′ĭk /

1. A drug that temporarily depresses neuronal function, producing total or partial loss of sensation with or without the loss of consciousness.

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anesthetic Cultural  

1. A substance that causes loss of sensation or consciousness. With the aid of an anesthetic, people can undergo surgery without pain. (See general anesthetic and local anesthetic.)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonanesthetic
  adjective
• postanesthetic
  adjective
• semianesthetic
  adjective
• anesthetically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• anesthetics
  plural

Etymology

Origin of anesthetic

1840–50, < Greek anaísthēt ( os ) without feeling, senseless + -ic; see an- ¹, aesthetic

Compare meaning

How does anesthetic compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• anesthesia vs. anesthetic

Explanation

The next time you go to the dentist, make sure you know the word anesthetic. This drug causes a temporary loss of feeling, making it your best friend if the drill has to be used. The word anesthetic traces back to the Greek word anaisthēsia, from a combination of an-, meaning “without” and aisthēsis, meaning “sensation.” If you take an anesthetic that’s what happens: you are temporarily without sensation, meaning you feel no pain. A general anesthetic causes temporary unconsciousness and is often used during surgeries. A local anesthetic numbs just one area, such your mouth or a finger.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

anesthetic anesthetics

Nostalgia for Broadway’s golden age is proving to be a potent societal anesthetic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

She was once so desperate for a stress remedy that she got an anesthetic injection in her neck that is meant to block sympathetic nerves and provide a temporary sense of calm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2025

A local anesthetic provides some relief, but providers still recommend taking ibuprofen shortly before your appointment.

From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2024

"The European guidelines of the European Resuscitation Council don't yet set out any specific recommendations for possible anesthetic drugs," explains Jansen.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2024

The doctor took a breath, then told Laila that the hospital had no anesthetic.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

There were no antibiotics to fight infectious diseases, no reliable antiseptics or anesthetics for surgeries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026

Their findings are detailed in the paper 'Growth in production and environmental deposition of trifluoroacetic acid due to long-lived CFC replacements and anesthetics'.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 6, 2026

The reason, its authors wrote, was that “we had no data available on analgesics or possible local anesthetics used during ritual circumcisions in our cohort, so we were unable to address the paracetamol hypothesis directly.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2025

Les spent long hours in the surgical theater, which in Macclesfield had little in the way of ventilation, and Joy typically found that he came home smelling of anesthetics, antiseptics and blood.

From New York Times ● Jun. 14, 2024

Improvements in anesthetics, and new drills and bone saws that allowed for precision cutting of the skull, made it possible.

From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge

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