opium
Americannoun
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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.
-
anything that causes dullness or inaction or that soothes the mind or emotions.
noun
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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
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something having a tranquillizing or stupefying effect
Etymology
Origin of opium
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin < Greek ópion poppy juice, equivalent to op ( ós ) sap, juice + -ion diminutive suffix
Vocabulary lists containing opium
East Asia - High School
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The Middle East and Central Asia - High School
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Chinese History - Middle School and High School
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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.
The company, whose early trading days date to the 19th century and the era of British rule, once exported opium to China and sold cotton to Britain when the American Civil War dried up supplies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
British subversion and battlefield mastery not only effectively ended China’s opium prohibition, but it facilitated the British acquisition of Hong Kong.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2023
They have improved domestic security through crackdowns on armed groups such as the Islamic State, and say they are fighting corruption and opium production.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 13, 2023
The Taliban took over in August 2021 and announced a ban on opium cultivation the following April.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2023
He poked fun at those who fled the city, at the power of opium to banish pain, and at the cruelty and indifference of those outside the city.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
