# anesthesia

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˌæn.əsˈθiːz.i.ə/ · frequency rank #17,287

## Definitions
1. An artificial method of preventing sensation, used to eliminate pain without causing loss of vital functions, by the administration of one or more agents which block pain impulses before transmitted to the brain.
2. The loss or prevention of sensation, as caused by anesthesia (in the above sense), or by a lesion in the nervous system, or by another physical abnormality.
3. A medication that provides the service of temporarily blocking sensation.

## Etymology
Sense of “insensibility” attested since 1679, from New Latin anaesthēsia, from Ancient Greek ἀναισθησία (anaisthēsía, “without sensation”), from ἀν- (an-, “not”) and αἴσθησις (aísthēsis, “sensation”). By surface analysis, an- + -esthesia.
Sense of “state induced by an agent” attested since 1846.

## Easily confused with
- **anesthetic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/anesthesia-vs-anesthetic)
- **anaesthesia** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/anaesthesia-vs-anesthesia)

## Common misspellings (14)
`aensthesia`, `aneshtesia`, `anessthesia`, `anestehsia`, `anestheisa`, `anesthesai`, `anesthessia`, `anesthhesia`, `anesthseia`, `anestthesia`, `anetshesia`, `annesthesia`, `ansethesia`, `naesthesia`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/anesthesia