opium

[oh-pee-uhm]

noun

1. the dried, condensed juice of a poppy, Papaver somniferum, that has a narcotic, soporific, analgesic, and astringent effect and contains morphine, codeine, papaverine, and other alkaloids used in medicine in their isolated or derived forms: a narcotic substance, poisonous in large doses.

2. anything that causes dullness or inaction or that soothes the mind or emotions.

opium

/ ˈəʊpɪəm /

noun

1. the dried juice extracted from the unripe seed capsules of the opium poppy that contains alkaloids such as morphine and codeine: used in medicine as an analgesic

2. something having a tranquillizing or stupefying effect

opium

1. A highly addictive, yellowish-brown drug obtained from the pods of a variety of poppy, from which other drugs, such as morphine, are prepared.

opium

1. A highly addictive drug obtained from the poppy plant. Several other drugs, such as morphine and codeine, are derived from opium.

Word History and Origins

Origin of opium¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek ópion poppy juice, equivalent to op ( ós ) sap, juice + -ion diminutive suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of opium¹

C14: from Latin: poppy juice, from Greek opion, diminutive of opos juice of a plant

Example Sentences

Afghanistan used to produce more than 80% of the world's opium, with heroin made from Afghan opium making up 95% of the market in Europe.

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He had privately dismissed it as “spiritual opium,” according to the people close to Beijing, and viewed it as an easy sacrifice to secure the continued dialogue China needed.

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The Los Angeles Times ran a particularly snarky article around the time of the 1943 concert that dismissed the singer as “an opium of emotionalism.”

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“Proper though she may have been,” Agnes’ mother “did smoke opium.”

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Opioids include drugs such as heroin that come from the opium poppy plant, as well as synthetically-made substances like fentanyl.

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Related Words

• drug 
• heroin 
• morphine 
• opiate 
• poppy