somniferous

American  

[som-nif-er-uhs, suhm-] / sɒmˈnɪf ər əs, səm- /

adjective

1. bringing or inducing sleep, as drugs or influences.

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somniferous British  

/ sɒmˈnɪfərəs /

adjective

1. rare tending to induce sleep

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Other Word Forms

• somniferously
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of somniferous

1595–1605; < Latin somnifer inducing sleep ( somni-, combining form of somnus sleep + -fer -fer ) + -ous

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

somniferous

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

He seemed very tired, overcome with somniferous stupor.

From His Masterpiece by Ernest Alfred Vizetelly

There are a few celebrated ethical compositions, in which the father lavishes upon his son all the treasures of Somali good advice, long as the somniferous sermons of Mentor to the insipid son of Ulysses.

From First Footsteps in East Africa by Sir Richard Francis Burton

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

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