Meaning & use
analgesic
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Meanings
nouncountable
A medicine or substance that reduces pain without making the person lose consciousness.
Grammar: Countable: a mild analgesic, several analgesics.
Patterns
- an analgesic for something
- take an analgesic
The nurse gave him a mild analgesic for his headache.
Aspirin is a common analgesic that is sold without a prescription.
The doctor prescribed a stronger analgesic after the operation.
adjectivebefore a nounmedical
Relieving or reducing pain.
Grammar: Used before a noun: analgesic properties, an analgesic cream.
Patterns
- analgesic effect
- analgesic properties
The cream has an analgesic effect on sore muscles.
Researchers studied the analgesic properties of the plant.
Word forms
| plural | analgesics |
|---|
Common combinations
- mild analgesic
- A mild analgesic is usually enough for a toothache.
- prescribe an analgesic
- The doctor will prescribe an analgesic if needed.
- over-the-counter analgesic
- He took an over-the-counter analgesic for his back.
- analgesic effect
- The analgesic effect lasts about four hours.
- opioid analgesic
- An opioid analgesic is only given under strict control.
Synonyms and how they differ
- painkiller
- Painkiller is the everyday word for the same kind of medicine, and analgesic is the medical term.
- anodyne
- Anodyne is an old or literary word for something that eases pain and is rarely used for modern drugs.
- palliative
- Palliative describes treatment that eases symptoms without curing, so it is broader than a pain-only drug.
- sedative
- A sedative calms or makes someone sleepy and is not mainly for pain.
Word family
- analgesia noun
- the loss or lessening of pain
- analgesically adverb
- in a way that relieves pain
Commonly confused: analgesic or anesthetic? analgesic or analytic?
analgesic vs anesthetic
An anesthetic numbs a body part or makes a person unconscious, while an analgesic simply reduces pain.
analgesic vs analytic
Analytic means related to analysis, and has nothing to do with medicine for pain.
Practice
After the dental work, the dentist recommended a mild ___ to ease the soreness.
Choose one answer.
An analgesic reduces pain. An antibiotic fights bacteria, a vaccine prevents disease, and a stimulant increases alertness, so none relieve soreness.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “analgesic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.