as in narcotics
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
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Recent Examples of opiates
When Samson starts coming round in search of more of the morphine darts Kelson has been using to subdue him — not even zombies are immune to the appeal of opiates — Kelson starts treating his wounds, then joining him in his doses, then dancing with him to fragments of ’80s songs.
—
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 17 Jan. 2026
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
ProPublica reviewed cutoff levels used to confirm the presence of common drugs, including opiates, meth, THC and cocaine, as cited in court records, labs’ contracts with government agencies and scientific journals, as well as in interviews with toxicologists.
—Lucas Waldron, ProPublica, 6 Jan. 2026
According to a coroner’s report obtained by TMZ, Peterson reportedly had a deadly cocktail of prescription drugs in her system at the time of her death, including benzodiazepines, opiates and phenothiazines (an anti-psychotic medication).
—Gillian Telling, PEOPLE, 27 Dec. 2025
This was Elvis ready to lean into his anti-establishment powers as a certified young stud, years before a series of bad career movies, a never-ending Las Vegas residency and an addiction to opiates that contributed to his death at 42.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 2 Dec. 2025
The vase in question with traces of opiates has been part of the museum’s Babylonian Collection since shortly after the assemblage of about 40,000 ancient artifacts was established at the university in 1911.
—Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Nov. 2025
These chemicals can be even more potent than other opiates and produce comparable hallucinogenic effects, increasing the desirability of the cut fentanyl on the market.
—David Ferrara, The Enquirer, 4 Sep. 2025
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 17 Jan. 2026
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
ProPublica reviewed cutoff levels used to confirm the presence of common drugs, including opiates, meth, THC and cocaine, as cited in court records, labs’ contracts with government agencies and scientific journals, as well as in interviews with toxicologists.
—Lucas Waldron, ProPublica, 6 Jan. 2026
According to a coroner’s report obtained by TMZ, Peterson reportedly had a deadly cocktail of prescription drugs in her system at the time of her death, including benzodiazepines, opiates and phenothiazines (an anti-psychotic medication).
—Gillian Telling, PEOPLE, 27 Dec. 2025
This was Elvis ready to lean into his anti-establishment powers as a certified young stud, years before a series of bad career movies, a never-ending Las Vegas residency and an addiction to opiates that contributed to his death at 42.
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 2 Dec. 2025
The vase in question with traces of opiates has been part of the museum’s Babylonian Collection since shortly after the assemblage of about 40,000 ancient artifacts was established at the university in 1911.
—Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Nov. 2025
These chemicals can be even more potent than other opiates and produce comparable hallucinogenic effects, increasing the desirability of the cut fentanyl on the market.
—David Ferrara, The Enquirer, 4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for opiates
narcotics
Noun
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Since the operation began last October, more than a dozen firearms have been seized, along with nearly $200,000 in illicit funds and more than 10 kilograms of cocaine, fentanyl and other narcotics, according to the FBI.—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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Last November, the service launched a VTOL drone produced by ShieldAI called the MQ-35 V-BAT from a cutter to intercept illicit narcotics at sea, with three interdictions made in one night.—
Zita Ballinger Fletcher,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Opiates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opiates. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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