sedative
Americanadjective
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tending to calm or soothe.
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allaying irritability or excitement; assuaging pain; lowering functional activity.
noun
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sedatives
plural
adjective
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having a soothing or calming effect
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of or relating to sedation
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sedative
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English (adjective), from Middle French sédatif, from Medieval Latin sēdātīvus; equivalent to sedate + -ive
Explanation
A sedative is a drug that calms you down. If a patient is freaking out about getting an MRI or minor surgery, the doctor might prescribe a sedative to chill them out. A sedative is anything that makes you sedate — peaceful, calm, tranquil. In medicine this word refers to drugs that relieve anxiety or tranquilizers that pretty much knock you out. But other non-pharmaceutical things can have sedative effects, like a soothing cup of tea or a relaxing glass of wine. The tryptophan in turkey is actually a natural sedative — that's why everyone is sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner!
Vocabulary lists containing sedative
The Great Gatsby
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"The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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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:
Specifically, the pain-relieving effects were linked to the adenosine A2a receptor -- a receptor that caffeine targets and blocks -- suggesting that terpenes may also have sedative properties.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 20, 2026
Ketamine is widely used in the NHS as an anaesthetic, sedative and pain reliever, and is also commonly used on animals.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Emergency-room visits for vertigo commonly result in unnecessary diagnostic tests and sedative medications, potentially worsening patient outcomes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
Later, when Carolyn developed a sensitivity to a sedative used during her monthly lumbar punctures, her doctors switched to another medicine, and the company again denied payment, Austin said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
Before leaving, he’d administered a sedative and insisted that there be no more visitors tonight.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
Existing treatments are decades-old stimulants and sedatives that target one symptom at a time, but Orzeyful and its competitor drugs are designed to treat the disease as a whole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Whoever is given the job of informing him of that had better take a handful of sedatives and a crowbar to pry the president off the wall of the Oval Office.
From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2026
Monitored by a police drone, an exhausted Buddy finally laid down to rest as a vet administered some sedatives in the early hours of Sunday.
From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2025
Treatment also includes anti-seizure medication and sedatives, which also help with controlling seizures so they don’t worsen in intensity and duration and result in permanent brain damage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2025
But he was resting under sedatives in Amarillo curing his prostatitis.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
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.
