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nar·cot·ic | \ när-ˈkä-tik 
\
\Definition of narcotic
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a : a drug (such as opium or morphine) that in moderate doses dulls the senses, relieves pain, and induces profound sleep but in excessive doses causes stupor, coma, or convulsions
b : a drug (such as marijuana or LSD) subject to restriction similar to that of addictive narcotics whether physiologically (see physiological) addictive and narcotic or not
2 : something that soothes, relieves, or lulls
a public comforted by the narcotic of military supremacy
narcotic
adjectiveDefinition of narcotic (Entry 2 of 2)
1a : having the properties of or yielding a narcotic
b : inducing mental lethargy
2 : of, induced by, or concerned with narcotics
3 : of, involving, or intended for narcotic addicts
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Other Words from narcotic
Adjective
narcotically \ när-ˈkä-ti-k(ə-)lē \ adverb
\ adverbSynonyms for narcotic
Synonyms: Noun
Synonyms: Adjective
- calming,
- comforting,
- dreamy,
- lulling,
- pacifying,
- quieting,
- relaxing,
- sedative,
- soothing,
- tranquilizing
- (also tranquillizing)
Examples of narcotic in a Sentence
Noun
an irradicable sense of self-righteousness seems to be the narcotic that inures these religious fanatics from any realization of the harm they have done Adjective
some therapists believe that certain scents can have a narcotic effect on people
the lecturer droned on in a narcotic monotone that eventually had the entire class struggling to stay awake
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Police say the found unspecified narcotics and two firearms in the home.
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Cliff Pinckard, cleveland, "Lorain man arrested on drug charges after raid on home," 18 Feb. 2020 Juice WRLD suffered a seizure and went into cardiac arrest in a terminal at Chicago’s Midway Airport on Dec. 8 while law enforcement were searching his Gulfstream jet for firearms and narcotics.
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Chris Eggertsen, Billboard, "Juice WRLD Defense Granted Stay in Yellowcard's 'Lucid Dreams' Copyright Case," 12 Feb. 2020 America’s big policy response to narcotics was the war on drugs, which was expensive and ineffective.
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Time, "There Are Far Too Many 'Deaths of Despair' in the U.S. How Much Longer Will We Turn Our Backs on This Crisis?," 16 Jan. 2020 An autopsy of Bobbi Kristina Brown found several narcotics and prescription drugs in her body, including marijuana, alcohol and medications used for sedation or to treat anxiety.
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Los Angeles Times, "Nick Gordon, who was found liable for death of partner Bobbi Kristina Brown, dies at 30," 1 Jan. 2020 Teresa Ann Deriso, 38, was arrested Tuesday and charged with first-degree manslaughter, possession of narcotics and administration of a narcotic by a non-drug-dependent person, according to state police.
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Zach Murdock, courant.com, "Hartford woman arrested, charged in connection with fatal 2017 drug overdose in Windham," 11 Dec. 2019 SRO Bookman is training Carmen to sniff out gunpowder and narcotics, according to the sheriff's office.
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Sarah Brookbank, Cincinnati.com, "Meet Carmen, the new K-9 at Edgewood City Schools," 2 Dec. 2019 Lilly has previously been arrested for narcotics in the last two years, deputies said.
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Richard Tribou, orlandosentinel.com, "Florida woman caught bringing meth into courthouse," 8 Nov. 2019 Jones, whose real name is Roger Thomas Clark, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics.
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Brian Barrett, Wired, "Security News This Week: Windows 7 Gets One Last Update for the Road," 1 Feb. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective This year alone, the Coast Guard has intercepted more than 230,000 pounds of the narcotic and has detained more than 400 smugglers from the Eastern Pacific Ocean drug transit zones.
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Fox News, "Coast Guard hauls in $350M worth of cocaine from multiple drug busts in international waters," 28 July 2019 The following day, another narcotic-detection canine was deployed to conduct a sniff search on a vehicle located near the staff parking lot at Tutwiler Correctional Facility in Wetumpka.
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Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, "2 arrested at Alabama prisons for possession of contraband," 24 Jan. 2020 Bolo joined Yuma police in December 2015 and had 537 deployments, which included building and vehicle searches and narcotic detection, the news release stated.
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Alexa Fuenmayor, azcentral, "7-year-old Yuma police K9 unit dog dies after being diagnosed with cancer," 26 Nov. 2019 In addition to providing additional security at our three facilities, K-9 units are extremely valuable when assisting narcotic detection, missing person searches, and responding to mutual aid calls.
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BostonGlobe.com, "Every day, police officers respond to reports of all sorts of events and nonevents, most of which never make the news. Here is a sampling of lesser-known — but no less noteworthy — incidents from police log books (a.k.a. blotters) in our suburbs.," 23 Aug. 2019 In court, prosecutors said Schwarzman’s blood contained no alcohol, but did contain clonazepam, a sedative; methadone, a narcotic; and THC, a compound found in marijuana, at the time of the crash.
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Cody Boteler, baltimoresun.com, "Woman sentenced to 10 years for crash that killed 5-year-old and her grandmother in Baltimore County," 2 Dec. 2019 The drug will be classified as a narcotic and a person convicted for a first offense of selling fentanyl may be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison, fined up to $50,000, or both.
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Russell Blair, courant.com, "Ghost gun ban, higher minimum wage and 9 other laws that go into effect Oct. 1," 30 Sep. 2019 Though toxicology tests had not been completed on Mr. Zamperoni, the charging document said the two other men had died after taking drugs Ms. Barini had given them that were laced with fentanyl, a powerful narcotic.
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New York Times, "Cipriani Chef Found Dead May Have Been Drugged in Robbery Scheme," 26 Aug. 2019 According to the letter, the employee stole opioids from syringes—specifically hydromorphone, a narcotic used to treat moderate to severe pain—and replaced the medicine with tap water, which caused six patients to develop a bacterial infection.
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Maggie O'neill, Health.com, "A Nurse Stole Cancer Patients' Opioids and Diluted Them With Tap Water, Leading to Rare Infection," 8 Aug. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'narcotic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for narcotic
narcotic
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of narcotic
: a drug (such as cocaine, heroin, or marijuana) that affects the brain and that is usually dangerous and illegal
medical : a drug that is given to people in small amounts to make them sleep or feel less pain
See the full definition for narcotic in the English Language Learners Dictionary
narcotic
nounnar·cot·ic | \ när-ˈkä-tik \
\Kids Definition of narcotic
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a drug that in small doses dulls the senses, relieves pain, and brings on sleep but in larger doses has dangerous effects, that includes some (as morphine) that are used in medicine and others (as heroin) that are used illegally, and that often causes addiction
narcotic
adjectiveKids Definition of narcotic (Entry 2 of 2)
: of, relating to, or being a narcotic
narcotic drugs narcotic laws
narcotic
nounnar·cot·ic | \ när-ˈkät-ik \
\Medical Definition of narcotic
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : a drug (as codeine, methadone, or morphine) that in moderate doses dulls the senses, relieves pain, and induces profound sleep but in excessive doses causes stupor, coma, or convulsions
2 : a drug (as marijuana or LSD) subject to restriction similar to that of addictive narcotics whether in fact physiologically addictive and narcotic or not
narcotic
adjectiveMedical Definition of narcotic (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : having the properties of or yielding a narcotic
2 : of, induced by, or concerned with narcotics
3 : of, involving, or intended for narcotic addicts
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Time Traveler for narcotic
The first known use of narcotic was in the 14th century
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