Narcotic Meaning
/nɑːˈkɒtɪk/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAny 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.
nounAny type of numbing or soothing drug.
Sentence Examples
The gray sky is narcotic.
It is a narcotic.
This substance is a narcotic if inhaled.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The patient received a powerful ____ to relieve pain after the operation.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The patient was prescribed a strong ____ to help manage the severe pain after his major surgery, but he was warned that it could be very addictive.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""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:
"The State Department has given Ecuador $81 million since 2018 to help the country with its fight against organized crime and narcotics."
— 2025 March 19, Hira Humayun and Michael Rios, “Ecuador’s president invites foreign armies to fight gangs in the country”, in CNN:
"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:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The patient received a powerful ____ to relieve pain after the operation.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The patient was prescribed a strong ____ to help manage the severe pain after his major surgery, but he was warned that it could be very addictive.