lenitive

UK: /ˈlɛnɪtɪv/ US: (len′i tiv)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

len•i•tive  (len′i tiv), adj. 

1. softening, soothing, or mitigating, as medicines or applications.
2. mildly laxative.

n. 

3. a lenitive medicine or application.
4. a mild laxative.
5. [Archaic.] anything that softens or soothes.

• Medieval Latin lēnītīvus. See lenition, -ive
• 1535–45

len′i•tive•ly, adv. 
len′i•tive•ness, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

lenitive / ˈlɛnɪtɪv/ adjective

1. soothing or alleviating pain or distress

noun

1. a lenitive drug

Etymology: 16th Century: from Medieval Latin lēnītīvus, from Latin lēnīre to soothe