soporific
/,soupə'rifik/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective:
- Causing or tending to cause sleep: Describes something that induces drowsiness or sleep.
- Dull, boring, or sleepy: Describes something that is tediously monotonous or induces mental lethargy.
Noun:
- A drug or agent that induces sleep: A substance, often medicinal, used to cause sleep.
Usage Examples
Adjective:
- The professor's soporific lecture made several students fall asleep. (His monotonous and dull way of speaking induced sleep.)
- The warm room and soft music had a soporific effect on the guests. (The environment created a sleep-inducing atmosphere.)
Noun:
- The doctor prescribed a mild soporific to help with her insomnia. (The doctor gave her a sleep-inducing drug.)
- Some herbal teas are considered natural soporifics. (Certain teas act as agents that promote sleep.)
Advanced Usage
- Used figuratively to describe extreme dullness: Often applied to speeches, writing, or performances that are exceptionally boring.
- The report was soporific in its detail, numbing the audience's attention.
Variants and Related Words
- Sopor (n, archaic): A deep or unnatural sleep.
- Soporiferous (adj, rare): Sleep-bringing; synonymous with 'soporific'.
Synonyms
- Adjective (sleep-inducing): Hypnotic, somnolent, sedative, slumberous.
- Adjective (dull): Somniferous, tedious, monotonous, boring.
- Noun: Hypnotic, sedative, sleeping pill, narcotic (in the context of sleep induction).
Antonyms
- Adjective: Stimulating, invigorating, exciting, rousing.
- Noun: Stimulant, upper.
Related Phrases/Idioms
- A soporific dose: A quantity sufficient to induce sleep.
- The medicine was administered in a soporific dose.
- To have a soporific quality: To possess an inherent characteristic that causes drowsiness.
- The repetitive sound of the rain has a soporific quality.
Adjective
- inducing mental lethargy
- a narcotic speech
- sleep inducing
Noun
- a drug that induces sleep