narcotize

[ nahr-kuh-tahyz ]
See synonyms for: narcotizenarcotized on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),nar·co·tized, nar·co·tiz·ing.
  1. to subject to or treat with a narcotic; stupefy.

  2. to make dull; stupefy; deaden the awareness of: He had used liquor to narcotize his anxieties.

verb (used without object),nar·co·tized, nar·co·tiz·ing.
  1. to act as a narcotic: a remedy that does not heal but merely narcotizes.

Origin of narcotize

1
First recorded in 1835–45; narcot(ic) + -ize
  • Also especially British, nar·co·tise .

Other words from narcotize

  • nar·co·ti·za·tion, noun

Words Nearby narcotize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use narcotize in a sentence

  • It is upon this very principle that the same amount of wine may stimulate at dinner, but narcotize when taken in the forenoon.

    Tobacco and Alcohol | John Fiske
  • They fascinate even when they excite, and soothe and narcotize in the communication of their subtle power.

    A Trooper Galahad | Charles King
  • The instruction I gave him was in these words: "I want you to narcotize those women to within an inch of their lives."

  • A mystic beverage secretly used by our most popular novelists and poets to regulate the imagination and narcotize the conscience.

    The Devil's Dictionary | Ambrose Bierce

British Dictionary definitions for narcotize

narcotize

narcotise

/ (ˈnɑːkəˌtaɪz) /


verb
  1. (tr) to place under the influence of a narcotic drug

Derived forms of narcotize

  • narcotization or narcotisation, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012