sedation
Americannoun
-
the calming of mental excitement or abatement of physiological function, especially by the administration of a drug.
-
the state so induced.
noun
-
a state of calm or reduced nervous activity
-
the administration of a sedative
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sedation
First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin sēdātiōn-, stem of sēdātiō; equivalent to sedate + -ion
Explanation
Sedation is either the state of being relaxed or sleepy because of a drug, or the act of drugging someone with a sedative. Sedatives are drugs that people take to relax or fall asleep, and sedation has two related meanings. Sedation can be the condition of someone who has taken a sedative. You're in a state of sedation if you're relaxed, mellow, sleepy, or low-key because of a drug. Also, sedation can be the action of doctors or nurses in calming someone through drugs. A nurse may put a patient under sedation if they can't sleep. Sedation is an act of drugging.
Vocabulary lists containing sedation
Ugly
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All Thirteen
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Return to Sender
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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.
These adverse events included dizziness, sedation, and nausea, with increases described as moderate to large.
From Science Daily • Dec. 30, 2025
Once reserved for a hospital theatre and requiring a general anaesthetic, he now carries the face and neck lift without sedation in his clinic.
From BBC • Oct. 10, 2025
Kotcheff’s daughter Kate Kotcheff said via email that he died peacefully while under sedation Thursday night in a hospital in Nuevo Nayarit, Mexico.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2025
In the weeks that followed, she underwent more surgeries, sedation and intubation.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 29, 2024
The doctors encouraged her to take a rest—Ernest would be slow coming out of sedation, they said—so she repaired to a late-night coffee shop.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
