depressant
[dih-pres-uh nt]
- Medicine/Medical. having the quality of depressing or lowering the vital activities; sedative.
- causing a lowering in spirits; dejecting.
- causing a drop in value; economically depressing.
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- Medicine/Medical. a sedative.Compare stimulant(def 1).
- Chemistry. any agent capable of diminishing a specific property of a substance.
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Origin of depressant
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for depressant
Contemporary Examples of depressant
Some presenters claim that qat is like heroin, a depressant.
Historical Examples of depressant
He is stimulant, irritant, but there is no depressant reaction from him.
The Critical GameJohn Albert Macy
But on account of this depressant action it is to be avoided for women and children and rarely used for men.
It is a stimulant, not a depressant, as is the tepid bath, and it is safer than the cold bath.
Depressant as black life- preservers its two extra tires gleamed and dripped in their jetty enamel-cloth casings.
Rainy WeekEleanor Hallowell Abbott
Ten years ago many good authorities still ranked alcohol as a stimulant; now, almost all rank it as a depressant.
Alcohol: A Dangerous and Unnecessary Medicine, How and WhyMartha M. Allen
depressant
- med able to diminish or reduce nervous or functional activity
- causing gloom or dejection; depressing
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- a depressant drug
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for depressant
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
depressant
(dĭ-prĕs′ənt)- Tending to lower the rate of vital physiological activities.
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- An agent, especially a drug, that decreases the rate of vital physiological activities.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.