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Synonyms

narcosis

American  
[nahr-koh-sis] / nɑrˈkoʊ sɪs /

noun

  1. a state of stupor or drowsiness.

  2. a state of stupor or greatly reduced activity produced by a drug.


narcosis British  
/ nɑːˈkəʊsɪs /

noun

  1. unconsciousness induced by narcotics or general anaesthetics

"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

Etymology

Origin of narcosis

1685–95; < New Latin < Greek nárkōsis. See narc-, -osis

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 freeway experience ... is the only secular communion Los Angeles has.… Actual participation requires total surrender, a concentration so intense as to seem a kind of narcosis, a rapture-of-the-freeway.”

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 11, 2023

Part of the reason lies in the challenge, another in how deep dives change the chemistry in the brain, creating nitrogen narcosis or a “rapture of the deep” that freedivers describe in lyrical terms.

From Washington Post Nov. 13, 2020

From 40 metres to 60 metres you get nitrogen narcosis and from 80 metres and deeper you get oxygen poisoning.

From The Guardian Nov. 9, 2019

Using a helium-oxygen mixture avoids the disoriented mental state known as nitrogen narcosis, the so-called rapture of the deep.

From Textbooks Feb. 14, 2019

After the narcosis of that repast the spirit falls into a softer mood, eager only to be amused.

From The Haunted Bookshop by Morley, Christopher

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