sop·o·rif·ic
ˌsä-pə-ˈri-fik 
1
a
: causing or tending to cause sleep
soporific drugs
b
: tending to dull awareness or alertness
2
: of, relating to, or marked by sleepiness or lethargy
: a soporific agent
specifically
: hypnotic sense 1
Did you know?
Soporific comes from Latin sopor, which means "deep sleep." That root is related to somnus, the Latin word for "sleep." Despite its meaning, somnus has been active, giving English somnolence (sleepiness), somnambulism (sleepwalking), and many other "sleepy" words.
Examples of soporific in a Sentence
Adjective
the soporific heat of summer
this medication is soporific, so do not drive after taking it
Recent Examples on the Web
Namwali Serpell, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2025
While Anton Chekhov always thought of The Seagull as a comedy, that fact has frequently been forgotten through productions that fall into the soporific trap set by angsty, moping, lovelorn characters losing their hearts and minds in the Russian countryside.
—Demetrios Matheou, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2025
Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 15 Oct. 2020
The filmmakers hit the reset button again, to find new conflict-laden places to go, new soporific curses to do.
—BostonGlobe.com, 17 Oct. 2019
See All Example Sentences for soporific
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Adjective
Rather than aiming for the unique, which might pierce our haze of distraction, art has succumbed to marketable generalities: stock music on Spotify, soporific streams of Netflix content.
—Namwali Serpell, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2025
While Anton Chekhov always thought of The Seagull as a comedy, that fact has frequently been forgotten through productions that fall into the soporific trap set by angsty, moping, lovelorn characters losing their hearts and minds in the Russian countryside.
—Demetrios Matheou, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2025
Noun
Despite the vicious—and mostly ineffective—GOP attacks on Biden’s mental acuity, the former vice president gave listeners a level of detail Thursday night that bordered on the soporific.
—Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 15 Oct. 2020
The filmmakers hit the reset button again, to find new conflict-laden places to go, new soporific curses to do.
—BostonGlobe.com, 17 Oct. 2019
See All Example Sentences for soporific
Cite this Entry
“Soporific.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soporific. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
soporific
1 of 2 adjective
so·po·rif·ic
-ˈrif-ik
: causing or tending to cause sleep
soporific
2 of 2 noun
: a soporific agent (as a drug)
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