narcotize

[ nahr-kuh-tahyz ]

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.

narcotize

/ ˈnɑːkəˌtaɪz /

verb

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

Derived Forms

• ˌnarcotiˈzation, noun

Other Words From

• narco·ti·zation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of narcotize¹

First recorded in 1835–45; narcot(ic) + -ize

Example Sentences

Most are unable to rise above the stylistic miasma of the production — Whitehead sounds narcotized even when Pip isn’t on drugs — or the entirely new words they’ve been asked to say.

From Los Angeles Times

The audience necessary to sustain original and ambitious work is narcotized by algorithms or distracted by doomscrolling.

From New York Times

Despite the depths of their wounds — Cusack’s Luce, a celebrated conservative author, finds her dead mother and daughter in her narcotized state — the characters are coldly drawn.

From Washington Post

To borrow a word, it narcotizes people in search of real spiritual wisdom.

From Washington Post

And while the Boston-born trio doled out narcotized, low-end-heavy rockers, the band took its name not from the opiate, but from “Morpheus,” the Greek god of sleep and dreams.

From Washington Post