Anesthetized

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Rendered unable to perceive pain or sensory stimuli as a result of medical treatment
2. A situation in which a person is deprived of the ability to sense pain or touch through the use of pharmacological agents
3. A state achieved when an individual is deprived of sensory perception or pain by means of medical substances administered during a procedure

Etymology: "Anesthetized" is the past tense and past participle of "anesthetize," so its history runs through that verb. The verb comes from "anesthesia," which traces back to the Greek "anaisthēsia," formed from "an-," meaning "without," and "aisthēsis," meaning "perception" or "feeling." Literally, it means "without sensation," which describes a patient under treatment. The same Greek root "aisthēsis" also lies behind "aesthetic," which once related only to perception by the senses. Over time that sense narrowed toward judgments of beauty and art. The two words share an ancestor yet describe opposite conditions: one is sensory perception, the other the loss of it.

Synonyms: numbed, sedated, insensate, unconscious, put to sleep

Antonyms: alert, aware, conscious, sensitive, responsive