Opium Meaning
/ˈoʊ.pi.əm/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA yellow-brown, addictive narcotic drug obtained from the dried juice of unripe pods of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, and containing alkaloids such as morphine, codeine, and papaverine.
nounAnything that numbs or stupefies.
Sentence Examples
Religion is the opium of the people.
Neither wine, nor opium, nor tobacco are necessary for people’s lives.
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the past, doctors often gave patients ____ to help them sleep after serious injuries.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Historically, ____ was used as a painkiller before modern anesthetics were developed.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sokʷós Ancient Greek ὀπός (opós) Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Ancient Greek -ῐος (-ĭos)? Ancient Greek -ῐον (-ĭon) Ancient Greek ὄπιον (ópion)bor. Latin opiumbor. ▲ Ancient Greek ὄπιον (ópion)bor. English opium Borrowed from Latin opium and Ancient Greek ὄπιον (ópion), from ὀπός (opós, “juice of a plant”), from Proto-Indo-European *sokʷós (“juice, resin”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"From hence we firſt ſailed to Achin, in the iſland of Sumatra, and then to Siam, where we bartered our wares for ſome arrack and opium, the laſt of which bore a great price among the Chineſe:[…]"
— 1777, [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], 7th edition, London: […] S. Crowder, […]; J. Sewell, […]; W. Johnston, […]; and B. Law, […], →OCLC, page 277:
"Opium is largely used by the Chinese as a sexual provocation, both by men and women."
— 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 169:
"When Zhang Jiao and his Yellow Turbans send their peasants, they're not sending their best. They're sending peasants with lots of problems and the peasants bring their problems across the Yangtze. They're bringing opium, they're bandits. And some, I assume, are good people."
— 2026 January 27, obongommunism, Instagram, depicts the speaker as U.S. President Donald Trump as a Han dynasty emperor:
"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, […] It is the opium of the people."
— 1843, Karl Marx, Zur Kritik der Hegelschen Rechtsphilosophie [A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right]:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the past, doctors often gave patients ____ to help them sleep after serious injuries.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Historically, ____ was used as a painkiller before modern anesthetics were developed.