narcotic
/nɑɹˈkɑtɪk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.00 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any substance or drug that reduces pain, induces sleep and may alter mood or behaviour; in some contexts, especially in reference to the opiates-and-opioids class, especially in reference to illegal drugs, and often both.
Example Sentences
- ""Real San Juan Colorado," he said. "Excitable people like you are the better for narcotics. Heavens! don't bite it! Cut - and cut with reverence!""
- "In 2016, the CDC established guidelines for prescribing narcotics for chronic pain."
- "The State Department has given Ecuador $81 million since 2018 to help the country with its fight against organized crime and narcotics."
- "But, for the unquiet heart and brain, A use in measured language lies; The sad mechanic exercise, Like dull narcotics, numbing pain."
- "Podson grabbed at his tobacco with a fervent, "God! just about saved my life." With a cigarette going he grabbed at the papers, requiring spiritual sustenance as well as a divine narcotic."
- "Which means that at the moment Raven entered her, a very small hypodermic needle slipped imperceptibly into the engorged frontal vein of his penis, automatically shooting a cocktail of powerful narcotics and depressants into his bloodstream."
Etymology
From Middle English narcotyk, from Middle French narcotique (from Old French narcotique, noun use of adjective) and directly from Medieval Latin narcōticum, from Ancient Greek ναρκωτῐκόν (narkōtĭkón), neuter of ναρκωτῐκός (narkōtĭkós), from Ancient Greek ναρκόω (narkóō, “to benumb”), from νάρκη (nárkē, “numbness, torpor”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: narcotyk, narcotique, narcōticum, ναρκωτῐκόν, ναρκόω, narkotisch
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /nɑɹˈkɑtɪk/
- British English: /nɑːˈkɒtɪk/
Inflected Forms
narcotics (plural)
narcotick (alternative, obsolete)
more narcotic (comparative)
most narcotic (superlative)