truth serum
[ trooth-seer-uhm ]
noun
a drug, as the barbiturate thiopental, that induces in the subject a desire to talk or a state of heightened suggestibility, used in psychotherapy and in interrogation to discover repressed or consciously withheld information.
Origin of truth serum
1First recorded in 1920–25
- Often truth drug [trooth-druhg] /ˈtruθ ˌdrʌg/ .
- Compare narcoanalysis.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
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