as in hypnotic
tending to cause sleep
morphine is an opiate drug
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in narcotic
something that soothes, calms, or induces passivity or a sense of security
a cultural critic who argues that the Internet has now joined television as an opiate of the American people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of opiate
Jeff Nguyen, CBS News, 17 Nov. 2025
Skaggs’ attorneys utilized last week’s testimony to establish how a team doctor’s opiate prescriptions exacerbated Eric Kay’s addiction, and how, according to multiple former employees, that addiction became evident throughout the organization.
—Sam Blum, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
Jillian Taylor, StateImpact, 16 Jan. 2026
At the dawn of the 20th century, American medicines were often laced with alcohol, opiates, or narcotics.
—Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for opiate
Adjective
Taylor has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disease, and an opiate use disorder.
—Jeff Nguyen, CBS News, 17 Nov. 2025
Skaggs’ attorneys utilized last week’s testimony to establish how a team doctor’s opiate prescriptions exacerbated Eric Kay’s addiction, and how, according to multiple former employees, that addiction became evident throughout the organization.
—Sam Blum, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
Noun
But Clarke is worried about patients losing out on things like steroid injections, which help manage pain without opiates or surgery.
—Jillian Taylor, StateImpact, 16 Jan. 2026
At the dawn of the 20th century, American medicines were often laced with alcohol, opiates, or narcotics.
—Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for opiate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opiate
Adjective
-
Their apps seem clearly designed, much like TikTok and Candy Crush, to keep users scrolling and tapping in a hypnotic stupor.—
McKay Coppins,
The Atlantic,
12 Mar. 2026
-
See it in a theatre now, and let every majestic desert vista and hypnotic beat of Kangding Ray’s music (inexplicably overlooked for Best Original Score) burn itself into your memory.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Giant subterranean sandworms measuring 1,500 feet long; a narcotic that fuels interstellar travel and bends a user’s perception of space-time; a mystical cabal of eugenicist witches—the list goes on.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
19 Mar. 2026
-
In a news release shared on social media, Menifee Police Department officers said that San Jacinto residents Yurida Guerrero Valenzuela, 21, and Kevin Dayon Ocegueda, 22, were both arrested and booked on suspicion of selling narcotics and alcohol to minors following a weeks-long investigation.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Those selling the drugs are replacing them with a less lethal, but very strong tranquilizer, called medetomidine, which results in severe withdrawal symptoms.—
Andy Sheehan,
CBS News,
23 Feb. 2026
-
In many areas, the sheer toxicity of street drugs and the presence of xylazine, an animal tranquilizer associated with severe skin wounds that can require amputation, has led many users to avoid syringes at all costs.—
Lev Facher,
STAT,
12 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
One method that doctors use to help patients involves injections of anesthetic to the nerves that control pain, a procedure called a nerve block.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Slow-walked the trial use of the fast-acting anesthetic ketamine by paramedics, who were able to administer only four doses in six months under his stewardship.—
Tony Saavedra,
Oc Register,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Opiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opiate. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
