anesthetize

/əˌnɛsθəˈtaɪz/

Other forms: anesthetized; anesthetizing; anesthetizes

If you need to have surgery, a doctor will anesthetize you, or give you medicine to make you sleep through the operation.

When a vet knocks your dog out to clean his teeth, she anesthetizes him. Oral surgeons also anesthetize patients before removing their wisdom teeth. In both cases, special drugs are used to put the patient under, or make him sleep long enough for the procedure to be finished before he wakes up. A doctor whose job it is to anesthetize patients is called an anesthesiologist. The root word is Greek: anaisthesia, "lack of feeling or sensation."

Definitions of anesthetize

1. verb

   administer an anesthetic drug to
   “The patient must be anesthetized before the operation”

   “anesthetize the gum before extracting the teeth”

   synonyms: anaesthetise, anaesthetize, anesthetise, put out, put under

   antonyms:

   bring to

   return to consciousness

   types:

   etherise, etherize

   anesthetize with ether

   chloroform

   anesthetize with chloroform

   freeze

   anesthetize by cold

   block

   interrupt the normal function of by means of anesthesia

   type of:

   dose, drug

   administer a drug to