sedation
Americannoun
-
sedations
plural
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the calming of mental excitement or abatement of physiological function, especially by the administration of a drug.
-
the state so induced.
noun
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a state of calm or reduced nervous activity
-
the administration of a sedative
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sedation
First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin sēdātiōn-, stem of sēdātiō; equivalent to sedate + -ion
Explanation
Sedation is either the state of being relaxed or sleepy because of a drug, or the act of drugging someone with a sedative. Sedatives are drugs that people take to relax or fall asleep, and sedation has two related meanings. Sedation can be the condition of someone who has taken a sedative. You're in a state of sedation if you're relaxed, mellow, sleepy, or low-key because of a drug. Also, sedation can be the action of doctors or nurses in calming someone through drugs. A nurse may put a patient under sedation if they can't sleep. Sedation is an act of drugging.
Vocabulary lists containing sedation
Ugly
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All Thirteen
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Return to Sender
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The treatment can stop decay without drilling, injections, or sedation.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
These adverse events included dizziness, sedation, and nausea, with increases described as moderate to large.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 30, 2025
Once reserved for a hospital theatre and requiring a general anaesthetic, he now carries the face and neck lift without sedation in his clinic.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2025
Kotcheff’s daughter Kate Kotcheff said via email that he died peacefully while under sedation Thursday night in a hospital in Nuevo Nayarit, Mexico.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2025
At the time, Dad had a wife under sedation who couldn’t bring herself to see the massively deformed baby she’d just given birth to.
From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge
Maybe we are not so interested in perfection and its sedations after all.
From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2021
For example, she says, using general anesthesia for a colonoscopy when lesser sedations are sufficient can add thousands of dollars to a patient’s bill.
From BusinessWeek ● Nov. 20, 2012
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
