Anaesthetized

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. To be placed in a state where physical feeling or awareness is diminished through medical intervention
2. Referring to the condition of having sensory perception temporarily suppressed due to the effects of anesthetic agents
3. Experiencing a state where sensation and consciousness are temporarily blocked by medical drugs designed to prevent pain

Etymology: "Anaesthetized" is the simple past and past participle of "anaesthetize," meaning to make someone numb or unconscious. The verb comes from Greek roots: "an-," meaning "without," and "aisthesis," meaning "sensation" or "perception," so the underlying idea is being deprived of feeling. The verb is built on the noun "anaesthesia," which uses the same Greek parts for the state of having no sensation. "Anaesthetic," the name for a substance that produces that state, was formed from the same base, and "anaesthetize" was then derived to describe administering it. The past form therefore carries the same core sense of losing sensation.

Synonyms: numbed, sedated, insensate

Antonyms: sensitive, responsive, aware