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somniferous

[som-nif-er-uh s, suh m-]
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adjective

bringing or inducing sleep, as drugs or influences.

RELATED WORDS

asleep, blah, comatose, dopey, drowsy, heavy, hypnotic, inactive, lethargic, listless, narcotic, opiate, out, quiet, sedative, sleeping, slow, sluggish, slumberous, somnifacient

Nearby words

  1. somnambulate,
  2. somnambulation,
  3. somnambulism,
  4. somni-,
  5. somnifacient,
  6. somniferously,
  7. somnific,
  8. somniloquy,
  9. somnipathy,
  10. somnocinematography

Origin of somniferous

1595–1605; < Latin somnifer inducing sleep (somni-, combining form of somnus sleep + -fer -fer) + -ous
Related formssom·nif·er·ous·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for somniferous

British Dictionary definitions for somniferous

somniferous

somnific

adjective

rare tending to induce sleep
Derived Formssomniferously, adverb

Word Origin for somniferous

C17: from Latin somnifer (from somnus sleep + ferre to do) + -ous
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for somniferous

somniferous

adj.

"sleep-producing," c.1600, from Latin somnifer, from somni- "sleep" + ferre "to bear" (see infer). With -ous.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for somniferous

somniferous

[sŏm-nĭf′ər-əs]

adj.

Inducing sleep; soporific.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.