American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth
Edition - n. An addictive drug, such as opium, that reduces
pain, alters mood and behavior, and usually induces sleep or
stupor. Natural and synthetic narcotics are used in medicine to
control pain. - n. A soothing, numbing agent or thing: "There
was the blessed narcotic of bridge, at the Colony or at the home
of friends” ( Louis Auchincloss). - adj. Inducing sleep or
stupor; causing narcosis. - adj. Of or relating to narcotics,
their effects, or their use. - adj. Of, relating to, or intended
for one addicted to a narcotic. Century Dictionary and
Cyclopedia - Having the power to produce stupor. - Consisting in
or characterized by stupor: as, narcotic effects. - n. A
substance which directly induces sleep, allaying sensibility and
blunting the senses, and which, in large quantities, produces
narcotism or complete insensibility. Opium, Cannabis Indica,
hyoscyamus, stramonium, and belladonna are the chief narcotics,
of which opium is the most typical.