| Library / English Dictionary |
DOWNER
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected form: downer
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A drug that reduces excitability and calms a person
Synonyms:
depressant; downer; sedative; sedative drug
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("downer" is a kind of...):
drug of abuse; street drug (a drug that is taken for nonmedicinal reasons (usually for mind-altering effects); drug abuse can lead to physical and mental damage and (with some substances) dependence and addiction)
medicament; medication; medicinal drug; medicine ((medicine) something that treats or prevents or alleviates the symptoms of disease)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "downer"):
chloral hydrate (a colorless crystalline drug used as a sedative; irritates the stomach and can be addictive)
Doriden; glutethimide (sedative (trade name Doriden) used to treat some sleep disorders)
sedative-hypnotic; sedative-hypnotic drug (a sedative that depresses activity of the central nervous system and reduces anxiety and induces sleep)
Derivation:
down (cause to come or go down)
