antidote
/ˈæn.tɪ.doʊt/noun, verb
antidote is spelled A-N-T-I-D-O-T-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “anecdote vs antidote” about 590 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, antidote means “A remedy to counteract the effects of poison” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of antidote is antidotes.
How many letters and syllables are in antidote?
| Letters | 8: A-N-T-I-D-O-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.8 times per million words; the 20,906th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is antidote?
Antidote appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce antidote?
- US /ˈæn.tɪ.doʊt/
Antidote has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-antidote.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with antidote
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of antidote
- antidotes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- antidoting participle, present
- antidoted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does antidote mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A remedy to counteract the effects of poison.
She reached the hospital in time to receive the antidote for the snake venom.
- 2
Something that counteracts or prevents something harmful.
We need an antidote for this misinformation.
verb
- 1
To counteract as an antidote.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Antidote in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | antidote, contrepoison, alexipharmaque, thériaque |
| German | Gegenmittel, Gegengift |
| Portuguese | antídoto , antidotar |
| Spanish | antídoto , antidoto |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does antidote come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).