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painkiller
noun
pain·kill·er
ˈpān-ˌki-lər
variants
or less commonly pain-killer
: something (such as a drug) that relieves pain
Examples of painkiller in a Sentence
I took some over-the-counter painkillers for my headache.
after her oral surgery, she was given a prescription for a mild painkiller
Recent Examples on the Web
Buy Now 08 of 15 ‘Empire of Pain’ by Patrick Radden Keefe
The Sackler family was behind pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma, when it was revealed that their money came from creating and misleadingly marketing a painkiller that set off the opioid crisis.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 31 Dec. 2024
One group had not been held accountable — until a recent New York Times investigation exposed how Big Pharma incentivized pharmacy benefit managers not to restrict painkiller prescriptions.
—Theara Coleman, theweek, 20 Dec. 2024
Throughout, there’s a empathetic understanding of actual showbiz hazards: Homer becomes addicted to painkillers, Marge blows a lot of the family fortune on bad investments, and Lisa eventually pens a tell-all titled Where Are My Residuals?
11.
—Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
Benoit Tessier | Reuters McKinsey & Company agreed to pay $650 million in a deferred prosecution agreement that will resolve a federal criminal probe into the company’s consulting work advising Purdue Pharma on how to increase sales of its opioid painkiller OxyContin, a court filing said Friday.
—Kevin Breuninger,dan Mangan, CNBC, 13 Dec. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
1849, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near painkiller
Cite this Entry
“Painkiller.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/painkiller. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
Kids Definition
More from Merriam-Webster on painkiller
Nglish: Translation of painkiller for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of painkiller for Arabic Speakers
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