narcotic
/nɑːˈkɒtɪk/US/nɑɹˈkɑtɪk/
narcotic 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.
Noun
narcotic (plural narcotics)
- 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.
- "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!"1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC
- In 2016, the CDC established guidelines for prescribing narcotics for chronic pain.2017 March 20, Nadia Kounang, “Prescriptions may hold clues to who gets hooked on opioids, study says”, in CNN
- Any type of numbing or soothing drug.
- But, for the unquiet heart and brain,
A use in measured language lies;
The sad mechanic exercise,
Like dull narcotics, numbing pain.1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto V”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC - 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.1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 139
- But, for the unquiet heart and brain,
Adjective
narcotic (comparative more narcotic, superlative most narcotic)
- Of, or relating to narcotics.
- Synonyms:
- narcotics
- Inducing sleep; causing narcosis.
- The duration of a prescription may give clues into how long a person ends up using a narcotic painkiller, a new study finds.2017 March 20, Nadia Kounang, “Prescriptions may hold clues to who gets hooked on opioids, study says”, in CNN
narcotic meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
narcotic in Hindi
- class of drugs
- मादक mādak
narcotic in Tamil
- களிவெறிப் பொருள், மயக்க மருந்து, உணர்திரிப்பி, போதை மருந்து, போதைப் பொருள், ஆழ் உணர்விழப்பு தூண்டும் மருந்து
narcotic in Urdu
- class of drugs
- نَشَہ naśa
narcotic in Bengali
- মাদকদ্রব্য
More languagesFewer languages
- narcotic in Malayalam
- ദോഷകരമായ ഔഷധം, മയക്കുമരുന്ന്, വേദനസംഹാരി
- narcotic in Kannada
- ಒರಗಿಸುವ, ನೋವಳಿಸುವ, ನಿದ್ರಾಜನಕ, ಮಂಪರು ಬರಿಸುವ
- narcotic in Tagalog
- narkotiko
- narcotic in Arabic
- مُخَدِّر muḵaddir
- narcotic in Malay
- narkotik
- narcotic in Indonesian
- narkotika
- narcotic in Thai
- ยาเสพติด yaa-sèep-dtìt, สารเสพติด
- narcotic in Vietnamese
- ma túy
Examples of narcotic in a sentence
- My narcotics anonymous sponsor became my best friend when I finally was able to do something about my meth problem.
- The forfeitability of the claimant’s vehicle was likely due to the fact that she, the claimant, had sold illegal narcotics from the vehicle on three separate occasions.
- Roosevelt is on strong narcotics for pain and could answer irrationally.
Synonyms of narcotic
Forms of narcotic
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | narcotics |
| alternative form (obsolete) | narcotick |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more narcotic |
| superlative | most narcotic |
Origin of narcotic
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”).
From Middle French narcotique or German narkotisch and directly from Medieval Latin narcōticus, from Ancient Greek ναρκωτῐκός (narkōtĭkós).
Words formed from narcotic
- antinarcotic
- anti-narcotic
- narcotics
- nonnarcotic
- non-narcotic
- subnarcotic
- counternarcotic
- electronarcotic
- narcotically
- narcoticize
Words that rhyme with narcotic
- exotic
- chaotic
- hypnotic
- sclerotic
- homoerotic
- neurotic
- quixotic
- antibiotic
- asymptotic
- biotic
- despotic
- dicrotic
31 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- ekpyrotic
- heterotic
- idiotic
- Nilotic
- probiotic
- semiotic
- symbiotic
- amniotic
- anadiplotic
- aponeurotic
- aquatic
- aryepiglottic
- autoerotic
- epiglottic
- erotic
- extraglottic
- glottic
- homeotic
- infraglottic
- intraglottic
- miotic
- osmotic
- paraglottic
- periglottic
- polyglottic
- psittacotic
- subglottic
- supraglottic
- thyroepiglottic
- transglottic
- unhypnotic
Questions about narcotic
- What does narcotic mean?
- Narcotic means 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.
- What is narcotic in Hindi?
- Narcotic in Hindi is मादक (mādak). See Narcotic meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is narcotic?
- Narcotic can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce narcotic?
- Narcotic is pronounced /nɑːˈkɒtɪk/ (UK).
- What is the plural of narcotic?
- The plural of narcotic is narcotics.
Words near narcotic in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: narcotic (page history and authors); narcotic (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); narcotic (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); narcotic (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); narcotic (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-narcotic.wav.
Cite this entry: “narcotic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/narcotic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.