having a soothing or calming effect of or relating to sedation
a sedative drug or agent
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
sed•a•tive /ˈsɛdətɪv/USA pronunciation
adj.
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- causing a feeling of calm;
soothing:a sedative drug.
n. [countable]
- Drugsa substance that calms or causes sleepiness.
sed•a•tive
(sed′ə tiv),USA pronunciation adj.
n.
- tending to calm or soothe.
- allaying irritability or excitement;
assuaging pain;
lowering functional activity.
n.
- Drugsa sedative drug or agent.
- Medieval Latin sēdātīvus, equivalent. to Latin sēdāt(us) (see sedate) + -īvus -ive
- Middle French sédatif )
- late Middle English (adjective, adjectival) (1375–1425
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'sedative' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Amytal
- Tuinal
- amobarbital
- barbiturate
- bromide
- butabarbital sodium
- calmative
- chloral hydrate
- chlorpromazine
- clemastine fumarate
- codeine
- depressant
- downer
- ethchlorvynol
- fentanyl
- flurazepam
- gamma hydroxybutyrate
- gelsemium
- glutethimide
- hemlock
- heroin
- hyoscyamine
- hypnotic
- lupulin
- meperidine
- methaqualone
- morphine
- nepenthe
- opiate
- palliative
- paraldehyde
- pentobarbital
- pentobarbital sodium
- phenobarbital
- potassium bromide
- psychotropic
- rauwolfia
- reserpine
- roofie
- scopolamine
- secobarbital
- sedate
- sedation
- sleeping pill
- sodium bromide
- temazepam
- thalidomide
- tranquilizer
- valerian