opiate 1 of 2

opiate

2 of 2

noun

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
Adjective
Toward the end of Thursday’s questioning, the defense asked Ventura about the 2016 InterContinental hotel freak-off, where the video of Combs beating Ventura in a hallway came from, and tried to indicate Combs was going through opiate withdrawal at the time, The New York Times reported. Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025 So could a weight loss medication that blocks opiate receptors along with suppressing appetite be effective? Andrea Muraskin, NPR, 15 Mar. 2025
Noun
Some of these common drugs include antacids, antidepressants, blood pressure medication, iron supplements, and opiates (narcotics). Polyps or tumors: A blockage in the intestine caused by a large growth (a polyp) or a tumor prevents stool from passing. Amber J. Tresca, Verywell Health, 4 June 2025 According to the Los Angeles County Medical-Examiner’s autopsy and toxicology reports, Rivera was 6 feet tall, 288 pounds and was under the influence of opiates when he was killed. Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for opiate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opiate
Adjective
  • Stephen depicts the women’s schooltime bond in hypnotic flashbacks, and their separation largely through absence itself, with gliding, pensive shots of places—rooms, buildings, streets—where the women have been and may be again but which, onscreen, are vacant.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2025
  • The first video work in the series, Ready Mix, 2021, follows the strangely hypnotic rumble of cement production at an Idaho mixing plant, from sand to finished block.
    Anne Reeve, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Encased in a glossy synth-pop tune, producers Max Martin and Shellback lace the lyrics with a melody as addictive as a narcotic, hooking listeners from the start.
    Bryan West, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Officials argue that this framing grants Washington broader legal and military latitude to act against foreign groups involved in narcotics smuggling.
    Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Spike takes one of Kelson's tranquilizer darts filled with morphine and stabs Samson in the arm with it.
    Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025
  • Jacintha, a horseback rider, was familiar with ketamine as a horse tranquilizer but had never heard of it as a last-stop mental health treatment for treatment-resistant patients like Lucy, who was diagnosed with depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
    Rachel Hale, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • SonoBello in Beverly Hills helps clients downsize in just one visit with just a local anesthetic, employing a technique called TriSculpt.
    Elycia Rubin, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic, which can have some hallucinogenic effects at low doses, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
    Soph Warnes, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Opiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opiate. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

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