anodyne

noun

1

: something that soothes, calms, or comforts

The sweetness of sojourn there … was an anodyne for the sorrows the pilgrims had endured …

—Amy Kelly

2

: a drug that allays pain

Did you know?

Anodyne came to English via Latin from Greek anṓdynos (meaning "free from pain, causing no pain, harmless, allaying pain"), and it has been used as both an adjective and a noun ("something that soothes, calms, or comforts") since the 16th century. It has sometimes been used of things that dull or lull the senses and render painful experiences less so. British statesman Edmund Burke used it this way, for example, in 1790 when he referred to flattery as an "anodyne draft of oblivion" that renders one (in this particular case, the deposed King Louis XVI) forgetful of the flatterer's true feelings. Nowadays, in addition to describing things that dull pain, anodyne can also refer to that which doesn't cause discomfort in the first place.

Synonyms of anodyne

• sedative
• analgesic
• tranquilizer

Examples of anodyne in a Sentence

the dentist prescribed an anodyne after the root canal

as an anodyne for the stress and superficiality of the modern world, there's nothing better than reading a literary classic of substance and insight

Recent Examples on the Web

That haze has led to a drawback of even the most anodyne of celebrations honoring Black achievement. —Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 19 Feb. 2026

But the thirty-seventh President looks like a model of restraint when compared with the forty-seventh, and his supposedly incendiary commentary anodyne by contrast to what emanates daily from the current occupant of the White House. —Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025

In Oliver’s poems, seeing is also feeling and both become an overwhelm for which language is a slight anodyne or ease. —Natalie Diaz september 11, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025

The vision is an anodyne of rage. —Sasha Frere-Jones, Harper’s Magazine , 4 Nov. 2022

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin anōdynum "something allaying pain," borrowed from Greek anṓdynon "freedom from pain," noun derivative of anṓdynos "free from pain, causing no pain, harmless, allaying pain" — more at anodyne entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for anodyne

• alkaline
• andesine
• anticline
• arginine
• asinine
• benzidine
• borderline
• byzantine
• calamine
• caroline
• centerline
• chloroquine

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Medical Definition

anodyne

1 of 2 adjective

an·​o·​dyne ˈan-ə-ˌdīn 

: serving to ease pain

anodyne

2 of 2 noun

: a drug that allays pain