opiate
Americannoun
-
Biochemistry, Pharmacology. a drug containing opium or its derivatives, used in medicine for inducing sleep and relieving pain.
The opium poppy yields morphine, codeine, and other opiates.
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Biochemistry, Pharmacology. any sedative, soporific, or narcotic.
Back then, the country physician would concoct all sorts of opiates in a crude kitchen laboratory.
- Synonyms:
- drug
- Antonyms:
- stimulant
-
anything that causes dullness or inaction or that soothes the feelings.
His favorite opiate seems to be a six-pack in front of the TV.
- Synonyms:
- anodyne
adjective
-
Biochemistry, Pharmacology. mixed or prepared with opium.
Some opiate substances, such as thebaine, may be more toxic than narcotic.
-
Biochemistry, Pharmacology. inducing sleep; soporific; narcotic.
Subjects were given a variety of opiate teas over the course of a four-week study.
- Synonyms:
- sedative
-
causing dullness or inaction.
The opiate effects of their droning reprimands were legendary.
verb (used with object)
-
to subject to an opiate; stupefy.
The violent patients were routinely opiated.
-
to dull or deaden.
This dreadful music is opiating my spirit.
noun
-
any of various narcotic drugs, such as morphine and heroin, that act on opioid receptors
-
any other narcotic or sedative drug
-
something that soothes, deadens, or induces sleep
adjective
-
containing or consisting of opium
-
inducing relaxation; soporific
verb
-
to treat with an opiate
-
to dull or deaden
Other Word Forms
- unopiated adjective
Etymology
Origin of opiate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French, from Medieval Latin opiātus “bringing sleep,” equivalent to Latin opi(um) “poppy juice” + adjective suffix -ātus; opium, -ate 1
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.
But fame has a way of upgrading your perception of everything it touches; it installs a gloss that no one likes to revoke — the illusion it supplies is too effective an opiate.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2023
If sports don't trump religion as the opiate of the masses, they have, until recently, been at least the background music of most of our lives.
From Salon • Apr. 25, 2020
Sir Peter was also criticised by family members of patients who died after being given opiate drugs at Gosport War Memorial Hospital between 1987 and 2001.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2020
The researchers created a hypothetical case of an African American man with sickle cell disease, a condition that typically requires opiate medications for control of painful flares.
From Slate • May 30, 2018
“Karl Marx famously called religion ‘the opiate of the masses.’
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
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.
