adjective / noun
anodyne
AN-uh-dyne/ˈænədaɪn/
Soothing rather than provoking pain or distress.
The conventional floral print offers an anodyne contrast to the emotionally charged painting.
Etymology
From “without pain,” anodyne came to describe something that relieved pain. Figuratively, an anodyne remark offers a comparable harmlessness: it causes little discomfort and provokes no strong reaction.
In context
the more anodyne it is the more sort of boring on paper it is and like watching paint dry probably the less meaningful the answers are going to get out of it
More examples
- Quiet music acts as an anodyne to her distress.
- His anodyne remarks offend nobody but reveal little.
- The old medical text lists several anodynes for pain.
Forms
anodyne · anodynes