tranquilizer
Americannoun
-
a person or thing that tranquilizes.
-
a drug that has a sedative or calming effect without inducing sleep.
Etymology
Origin of tranquilizer
First recorded in 1790–1800; tranquilize + -er 1
Explanation
A medication that's used to relax patients is called a tranquilizer. If someone suffers from severe anxiety, their doctor might prescribe a tranquilizer. The word tranquilizer is commonly used for anti-anxiety or anti-psychotic drugs, but it's not the term most medical professionals use. They are much more likely to use sedative, neuroleptic, or anxiolytic for a calming medication. Tranquilizer, from tranquility or "the state of being calm," was first used for sedatives in 1824, and for anti-anxiety drugs in 1954.
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.
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.
From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2025
A rhino targeted for moving was not subdued by a tranquilizer dart shot from a helicopter.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 16, 2024
Nearly twenty years ago, MIT researcher Judith Wurtman observed that "Carbohydrates raise serotonin levels naturally and act like a natural tranquilizer."
From Salon • Oct. 1, 2023
After being treated with a tranquilizer and an anti-inflammatory, the colt didn’t improve and went to the hospital.
From Washington Times • Aug. 21, 2023
Milligan sat near an open window with his tranquilizer gun at the ready.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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.
