somniferous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of somniferous
1595–1605; < Latin somnifer inducing sleep ( somni-, combining form of somnus sleep + -fer -fer ) + -ous
Explanation
Whether it's a medication or a boring lecture, something somniferous makes you sleepy. Like soporific, somniferous is a word used to describe something that puts you to sleep. Some people who have trouble snoozing take pills that are somniferous: sleeping pills. Others do somniferous things, like reading before bed or counting sheep. A bad public speaker can be really somniferous, and so can a boring movie. Anything somniferous makes you want to catch some Z's.
Vocabulary lists containing somniferous
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.
Everyone was back in the Dolby Theatre, a welcome return after last year’s somniferous experiment from Steven Soderbergh, which was held in Los Angeles’s Union Station.
From Washington Post • Mar. 28, 2022
Still, it’s a somniferous situation for the photographers, who camp out in their cars for hours at a time for a few seconds of activity.
From New York Times • Jun. 1, 2019
About 15% sleep less than 6� hours, and a somniferous 15% slumber on for more than � hours.
From Time Magazine Archive
A “sleep-thorn,” or other somniferous piece of wood, is commonly employed in our fairy tales, in order to throw a hero or heroine into a magic slumber.
From Indian Fairy Tales by Anonymous
Her study of library-cataloguing, recording, books of reference, was easy and not too somniferous.
From Main Street by Lewis, Sinclair
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.
