analgesic

American  

[an-l-jee-zik, -sik] / ˌæn lˈdʒi zɪk, -sɪk /

noun

1. a remedy that relieves or allays pain.

---

adjective

1. of, relating to, or causing analgesia, or the relief of pain.

analgesic British  

/ -sɪk, ˌænəlˈdʒiːzɪk /

adjective

1. of or causing analgesia

---

noun

1. a substance that produces analgesia

analgesic Scientific  

/ ăn′əl-jē′zĭk /

1. A drug used to eliminate pain; a painkiller. Aspirin and acetaminophen are analgesics.

---

analgesic Cultural  

1. A drug, such as aspirin, that relieves pain in the body.

---

Usage

What does analgesic mean? An analgesic is a remedy that reduces or relieves pain. It especially refers to pain relief medicine, such as acetaminophen. Analgesics also include drugs known as NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), such as ibuprofen. Analgesic can also be used as an adjective describing things that have pain-relieving effects, as in the analgesic properties of certain herbs. Analgesic comes from the word analgesia, which means a lessening of pain or the absence of pain. Example: Aspirin is a well-known and commonly used analgesic.

Etymology

Origin of analgesic

First recorded in 1870–75; analges(ia) + -ic

Explanation

An analgesic is a medicine that takes away physical pain. If you ask for pain relief, and the nurse says "Here's an analgesic," she's not trying to worsen your headache with a difficult word; she's just giving you a painkiller. Breaking apart the word analgesic helps with pronunciation, ann-ull-JEE-zick. This isn't a proper root-word study, but the last three letters of the word look like "sick." If you're sick and have some pain and discomfort, you might get relief from an analgesic. As a noun, analgesic is the actual medicine, and as an adjective, it describes the effect of the medicine — a pill will have an analgesic effect, relieving the pain — unless it's really bad pain, in which case you'll need two.

Example Sentences

When we look at relaxing paintings, we actually activate our pain analgesic response.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Because analgesic use was limited to acetaminophen only during the four months of follow-up in this trial, "that means the differences between treatment groups are more clearly attributable to the low-dose radiation therapy itself."

From Science Daily • Oct. 15, 2025

There's this much reported case of a woman who suffered from convulsions after taking a medicine for diabetes which had a similar sounding name to an analgesic she had been prescribed.

From BBC • Sep. 30, 2025

And so there is no analgesic for the moral injury that comes with realizing that Canadian McDonald’s have decided American Big Macs are simply too small for their liking.

From Slate • Sep. 7, 2023

I gave him an analgesic and a sedative.

From Blood Brothers A Medic's Sketch Book by Rohlfing, Sam