ketamine

[ kee-tuh-meen, -min ]

/ ˈki təˌmin, -mɪn /

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noun Pharmacology.

a synthetic nonbarbiturate general anesthetic, C13H16ClNO, used to induce anesthesia, alone or in combination, in surgical or diagnostic procedures of short duration; extensively used in veterinary medicine.

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Origin of ketamine

First recorded in 1965–70; ket- + -amine

Words nearby ketamine

Kesteven, kestrel, Keswick, Ket, keta, ketamine, ketch, Ketchikan, ketch-rigged, ketchup, kete

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ketamine in a sentence

Within days of the Oregon vote to legalize psilocybin use in therapeutic settings, Oregon-based Silo Wellness — which cultivates psychedelic mushrooms in Jamaica — announced an Oregon wellness retreat using the drug ketamine.
Will psychedelic mushroom vacations come to the U. S.?|Jen Rose Smith|January 7, 2021|Washington Post
So, ketamine has been known to the medical community for decades.
How Are Psychedelics and Other Party Drugs Changing Psychiatry? (Ep. 433)|Stephen J. Dubner|October 1, 2020|Freakonomics
When you take the ketamine and it’s in your brain, it has a very short half-life.
How Are Psychedelics and Other Party Drugs Changing Psychiatry? (Ep. 433)|Stephen J. Dubner|October 1, 2020|Freakonomics
So, for those of you keeping score at home, that was James and he’s your ketamine guy.
How Are Psychedelics and Other Party Drugs Changing Psychiatry? (Ep. 433)|Stephen J. Dubner|October 1, 2020|Freakonomics

Let’s say I get this injection of ketamine and I’m — my depression is gone.
How Are Psychedelics and Other Party Drugs Changing Psychiatry? (Ep. 433)|Stephen J. Dubner|October 1, 2020|Freakonomics
Strong pain medications such as morphine and ketamine did not help.
U.K. Courts Grant Mother Right to End Her 12-Year-Old Disabled Daughter’s Life|Elizabeth Picciuto|November 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He mentions drug use again (doing lines—probably of ketamine, a drug Bary references frequently).
An ISIS Killer in His Own Awful Words|Miranda Frum|September 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Alig became hooked on heroin, ketamine, cocaine, and Rohypnol—a stupefying blend of substances for the once sober partier.
The Party Monster Lives For the Applause: Michael Alig’s Second Act|Caitlin Dickson|February 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Everyone in Hollywood should go take his and her mistresses and concubines out for some celebratory Champagne and ketamine.
Newcomers Invade Emmys|Choire Sicha|August 30, 2010|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for ketamine

ketamine

/ (ˈkɛtəmiːn) /

noun

a drug, chemically related to PCP, that is used in medicine as a general anaesthetic, being administered by injection; cyclohexylamine

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

Scientific definitions for ketamine

ketamine

[ kē′tə-mēn′ ]

A general anesthetic given intravenously or intramuscularly in the form of its hydrochloride salt, used especially for minor surgical procedures in which skeletal muscle relaxation is not required.