Anaesthetizes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To cause an absence of sensation or consciousness through specific agents
2. To bring about a state where pain perception is blocked or awareness is diminished by certain substances
3. To administer a substance that prevents feeling or awareness, typically during medical procedures

Etymology: "Anaesthetizes" is the third-person singular present of "anaesthetize," a verb built on the Greek "anaisthētos," meaning "without sensation," from "an-" ("without") and "aisthēsis" ("perception" or "feeling"). The Greek root gave English "aesthetic" too, which originally meant "relating to perception by the senses" before its modern sense of beauty took over in the 19th century. The word itself was coined in 1846, not in antiquity. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., the American physician and writer, proposed "anaesthesia" in a letter to Charles Morton's circle, shortly after ether was first publicly demonstrated as a surgical anaesthetic at Massachusetts General Hospital that year. Holmes also favoured the term "anaesthetic" for the agent itself, and the verb "anaesthetize" followed from the noun as the practice spread through surgery.

Synonyms: numbs, sedates, tranquilizes, anesthetizes, calms

Antonyms: stimulates, arouses, excites, activates, energizes