tranquilizer

Or tran·quil·liz·er

[trang-kwuh-lahy-zer]

noun

1. a person or thing that tranquilizes.

2. a drug that has a sedative or calming effect without inducing sleep.

3. antianxiety drug.

4. antipsychotic.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tranquilizer¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; tranquilize + -er ¹

Example Sentences

The panda refused to be lured into the transport cage, so a tranquilizer dart was used.

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But in modern practice, “The Life of Chuck” is no more than a nostalgia tranquilizer, designed to comfort you after you roll your ankle on a two-step, dancing like no one’s watching.

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You’d have needed a tranquilizer gun to keep him from chasing after the next story, and the next, and he was still telling stories until his death in 2015.

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Zadeh said the cat eventually came to rest in the 2500 block of Pheasant Hill Road, where a second tranquilizer dart was shot, and this one hit its mark.

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“I felt incredibly weak … like it was taking over me … it was like a tranquilizer,” Ansbach said of his reaction to the drink Pearce served him.

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Related Words

• opiate 
• sedative