sedative

Inherited from Middle English sedatif, from Anglo-Norman sedatif, from Medieval Latin sēdātīvus, which itself likely influenced the modern spelling.

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛdətɪv/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪv
• Hyphenation: sed‧a‧tive

sedative (plural sedatives)

1. (pharmacology) An agent or drug that sedates, having a calming or soothing effect, or inducing sleep.

• (agents that cause sleep): sleeping pill, soporific, tranquilizer
• (other agents that sedate): anxiolytic, depressant, downer

sedative (comparative more sedative, superlative most sedative)

1. (pharmacology) Calming, soothing, inducing sleep, tranquilizing

• ataractic
• ataraxic

• “sedative”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “sedative”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

• deviates

• IPA^(key): /se.daˈti.ve/
• Rhymes: -ive
• Hyphenation: se‧da‧tì‧ve

sedative

1. feminine plural of sedativo

• deviaste, evadesti