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Synonyms

narcotize

American  
[nahr-kuh-tahyz] / ˈnɑr kəˌtaɪz /
especially British, narcotise

verb (used with object)

narcotized, narcotizing
  1. to subject to or treat with a narcotic; stupefy.

  2. to make dull; stupefy; deaden the awareness of.

    He had used liquor to narcotize his anxieties.


verb (used without object)

narcotized, narcotizing
  1. to act as a narcotic.

    a remedy that does not heal but merely narcotizes.

narcotize British  
/ ˈnɑːkəˌtaɪz /

verb

  1. (tr) to place under the influence of a narcotic drug

"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

Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of narcotize

First recorded in 1835–45; narcot(ic) + -ize


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:

Actually the soaps do not kill bacteria, they permanently "narcotize" the germs.

From Time Magazine Archive

His grandfather was a conservative bourgeois of a superior type, who was the author of treatises designed to narcotize the forces of rebellion of his time.

From The Glands Regulating Personality by Louis Berman M.D.

And nevertheless he desired at present to stay in it, even though for a few days, in order that he might gaze longer upon Panna Marynia and, as he called it, "further narcotize himself."

From Whirlpools A Novel of Modern Poland by Henryk Sienkiewicz

The warm air and the glow of the beautiful rooms seemed to narcotize her, and Rose allowed herself to be led away like a sleepy child.

From Rose of Dutcher's Coolly by Hamlin Garland

You may narcotize us with the sedative of your content.

From The Torch Bearer by Reina Melcher Marquis

Alongside the legendary Port Arthur duo UGK, rappers like Z-Ro, Lil’ Keke, Lil’ Troy, Paul Wall, and Lil’ Flip concocted a narcotized bang and sparkle that one can still hear in hip-hop.

From The New Yorker ● May 20, 2019

The excellent Ms. Rogers returns as Harry’s frowzy helpmeet, a woman narcotized by monotony, who can still put on the dog for a handsome stranger.

From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 2018

Sometimes it seems to me that young people are, indeed, entirely too quiet, too narcotized by gadgets, games and irrelevancies to notice the world is going to heck around them.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 14, 2014

We are a lazy and narcotized culture and it is hard to not just go to sleep.

From Salon ● May 10, 2013

Senility and infancy are by nature normally narcotized.

From Origin and Nature of Emotions by George W. (Washington) Crile

His treatments included electroconvulsive therapy, during which doctors use electric currents to spark a brain seizure, and also narcotizing drugs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2021

This deeply autobiographical novel recounts growing up gay in rural France, where the men and women scuff and strain against economic morbidity, class invisibility and narcotizing boredom.

From New York Times ● May 25, 2017

For the NFL, the powerful narcotizing effects of gamification don’t stop there.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2013

He blamed the narcotizing effect of television, the "Glee Club-ization of music" and, of course, the Internet, which he described as "a wall of noise" filled with fake Facebook friends and impotent bloggers.

From Chicago Tribune ● Mar. 17, 2011

Druro felt the old charm of lamp-posts stealing like a delicate, narcotizing perfume over his senses as he took her hand and listened to her soft murmurs of congratulation.

From Blue Aloes Stories of South Africa by Cynthia Stockley

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