tranquilizer

American  

[trang-kwuh-lahy-zer] / ˈtræŋ kwəˌlaɪ zər /

Or tranquillizer

noun

1. a person or thing that tranquilizes.

2. a drug that has a sedative or calming effect without inducing sleep.

3. antianxiety drug.

4. antipsychotic.

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Etymology

Origin of tranquilizer

First recorded in 1790–1800; tranquilize + -er ¹

Explanation

A medication that's used to relax patients is called a tranquilizer. If someone suffers from severe anxiety, their doctor might prescribe a tranquilizer. The word tranquilizer is commonly used for anti-anxiety or anti-psychotic drugs, but it's not the term most medical professionals use. They are much more likely to use sedative, neuroleptic, or anxiolytic for a calming medication. Tranquilizer, from tranquility or "the state of being calm," was first used for sedatives in 1824, and for anti-anxiety drugs in 1954.

Example Sentences

Johan Marais spots a rhinoceros from a helicopter and shoots it with a tranquilizer dart.

From Salon • Jun. 16, 2025

You’d have needed a tranquilizer gun to keep him from chasing after the next story, and the next, and he was still telling stories until his death in 2015.

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2025

Officers scrambled to a veterinarian to get a tranquilizer gun and doses of the sedative, only to find that they did not need them.

From Washington Times • Oct. 27, 2023

The moose was sedated with a tranquilizer dart and loaded onto a trailer before being evaluated by a Game and Fish Department veterinarian and determined to be in good health.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 13, 2023

I was relieved for a split second, but then I saw it—a white-and-orange tranquilizer dart lodged in Sasha’s right arm.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

• opiate
• sedative