analgesic

• antalgesic (uncommon)

From analgesia (“absence of pain”) +‎ -ic, from New Latin, from Ancient Greek ἀν- (an-, “without”) + ἄλγησις (álgēsis, “sense of pain”), from ἄλγος (álgos, “pain”).

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˌæn.l̩ˈd͡ʒiː.zɪk/, /ˌæn.l̩ˈd͡ʒiː.sɪk/
• Rhymes: -iːzɪk

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analgesic (plural analgesics)

1. (pharmacology) Any medicine, such as aspirin, that reduces pain, especially without inducing a loss of other sensation. (Contrast anesthetic.)
   • 2004, Jocoby, David B. and Youngson, R. M., Encyclopedia of Family Health‎^[1], Marshall Cavendish, page 137:

     I am taking an analgesic. Is it safe to drink alcoholic beverages?

   • 2010, Associated Press staff, Cadence signs option to buy Incline (original copy), Bloomberg Businessweek:

     Incline makes Ionsys, a potential analgesic for adult inpatients requiring opioid pain treatment after surgery.

• See also Thesaurus:analgesic

• painkiller

• "Analgesics". MeSH 2010, National Library of Medicine.
  • WHO Guidelines on the Pharmacological Treatment of Persisting Pain in Children with Medical Illnesses, (2012) World Health Organization

analgesic (comparative more analgesic, superlative most analgesic)

1. (pharmacology) Of or relating to analgesia; anodyne.
   1. (of medicine) Acting to relieve pain; being an analgesic.
   2. (of a person, etc) Unable to feel pain.
      • 1896, Philadelphia General Hospital, Reports: Collected Reprints, page 138:

        With the exception of the foot and a small area over the malar bone, the entire left side of the body is analgesic and anaesthetic. This extends to the exact median line of the body, including the left half of the tongue, nose and chin, […]

      • 1924, Maurice Walter Keatinge, Suggestion in Education:

        (I find that he is analgesic and anaesthetic; evidently he is in a state of passive somnambulism.)
        E. A. Did you feel anybody touch you?
        K. No. There's no one near me. (He continues laughing and talking. […] )

• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “analgesic”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “analgesia”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

•   analgesic on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• angelicas