painkiller

noun

pain·​kill·​er ˈpān-ˌki-lər 

variants or less commonly pain-killer

: something (such as a drug) that relieves pain

pain-killing

ˈpān-ˌki-liŋ 

adjective

or painkilling

Synonyms of painkiller

• sedative
• analgesic
• tranquilizer

Examples of painkiller in a Sentence

I took some over-the-counter painkillers for my headache.

after her oral surgery, she was given a prescription for a mild painkiller

Recent Examples on the Web

As Manganiello was just beginning to recover, weaning himself with difficulty from a heavy regimen of painkillers that had tested his sobriety, his agent called with the news that Ben Affleck wanted to discuss a role in the new Batman movie. — Joe Manganiello, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026

Sometimes, the mirror molecule does something completely different from what it was originally intended to — take novrad, a cough medicine, and darvon, a painkiller, which are chiral molecules (hence their mirror names, too). — Annalisa Merelli, STAT, 7 Oct. 2026

So have over-the-counter painkillers like acetaminophen, if they can be found at all. — ABC News, 30 Sep. 2026

Fuelled in part by the overprescription of painkillers like OxyContin in the 1990s, the market for unregulated substitutes exploded into what became regarded as an epidemic by the turn of the millennium. — New Atlas, 30 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for painkiller

• basilar
• distiller
• biller
• chiller
• driller
• filler
• hilar
• hiller
• killer
• pillar
• quiller
• siller

Kids Definition

painkiller

noun

pain·​kill·​er ˈpān-ˌkil-ər 

: something (as a drug) that relieves pain

painkilling

-iŋ 

adjective

Medical Definition

painkiller

noun

pain·​kill·​er -ˌkil-ər 

: something (as a drug) that relieves pain

painkilling

-iŋ 

adjective