antidote
/ˈæn.tɪ.doʊt/ noun, verb
Forms antidotes antidoting antidoted antidot
- noun A remedy to counteract the effects of poison. “She reached the hospital in time to receive the antidote for the snake venom.”
- noun (figurative) Something that counteracts or prevents something harmful. “We need an antidote for this misinformation.”
- verb (transitive) To counteract as an antidote.
Synonyms
mithridatic alexipharmic alexipharmac alexipharmacum alexiteric alexitery treacle theriac remedy counterpoison
Etymology
From Latin antidotum, from Ancient Greek ἀντίδοτον (antídoton, “antidote, remedy”), Clipping of ἀντίδοτον φάρμακον (antídoton phármakon, “drug given against”), from ἀντιδίδωμι (antidídōmi, “to give in return, repay”), from ἀντί (antí, “against”) + δίδωμι (dídōmi, “to give”). Compare French antidote.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A remedy to counteract the effects of poison, or of anything noxious taken into the stomach; --used with against, for, or to; as, an antidote against, for, or to, poison.
- noun Whatever tends to prevent mischievous effects, or to counteract evil which something else might produce.
- verb To counteract or prevent the effects of, by giving or taking an antidote.
- verb To fortify or preserve by an antidote.
Etymology [L. antidotum, Gr. antidote. See Dose, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “antidote”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details