morphine
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of morphine
From the German word Morphin, dating back to 1820–30. See Morpheus, -ine 2
Explanation
Morphine is a pain-relieving medication. Someone who's in the hospital recovering from an accident or surgery might be prescribed morphine. Morphine is a powerful narcotic that's related to opium — it's an opiate. Because of its strength and the danger of patients becoming addicted to it (as well as some nasty side effects), morphine is only prescribed in serious cases. Morphine is the French version of a word coined by a German pharmacist, Morphin, after the Ancient Greek god Morpheus, the god of dreams.
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.
Then again, Dossett, who was dying of cancer, also had a morphine pump surgically implanted in his chest.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
Sasse, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in December, has credited daraxonrasib with shrinking tumors and alleviating his pain along with morphine, touting it as a “miracle drug” in a recent interview.
From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026
To better understand how morphine works, researchers studied brain cells involved in tracking pain signals.
From Science Daily • Mar. 28, 2026
In the early 1980s, for example, scientists synthesized ziconotide, a natural pain-killer 1,000 times stronger than morphine without the addictive side effects.
From Salon • May 21, 2025
“I’ll come back with your morphine and a glass of water, Kaka jan,” Soraya said.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
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.
