What does hypnotics mean?
Hypnotics are substances, especially medicines, used to induce sleep or a trance-like altered state. In its most common medical sense, the word refers to sedative drugs prescribed for insomnia and other sleep disorders. These substances act by depressing nervous-system activity, allowing a person to fall asleep more easily. The term can also be used more broadly for any agent capable of producing hypnosis, although hypnosis itself does not necessarily involve drugs. Hypnotics is normally plural; the related singular form is “hypnotic.” In literary and historical contexts, the word may evoke powerful sleeping remedies, but its modern usage is predominantly technical and medical. Its vocabulary value lies in connecting two familiar ideas: sleep and altered consciousness.
plural nounHypnotics are drugs used to induce sleep, especially sedative medicines. More broadly, the term can refer to any agent used to produce a hypnotic state or trance.
- Drugs or other agents that induce sleep, particularly sedative-hypnotic medicines.
- Agents used to induce a hypnotic state or trance.
"Her doctor prescribed mild hypnotics to help her manage persistent insomnia."
"The doctor prescribed hypnotics for her severe insomnia."
"The historian described the substance as a hypnotic because it induced an altered state resembling sleep."
Usually plural; it is the standard plural of the singular noun “hypnotic” when referring to sleep-inducing drugs.
"She stopped taking the hypnotics without consulting her doctor."
Hypnotics shares its name with the power of sleep: the word ultimately comes from the Greek hypnos, meaning “sleep.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hypnotics come from?
The word ultimately derives from Greek hypnos, meaning “sleep,” through the related form hypnotikos, meaning “sleep-inducing” or “pertaining to sleep.” English acquired the adjective hypnotic and the associated noun terminology in the early modern period, with the plural “hypnotics” later used for sleep-inducing substances. Related words including hypnosis, hypnotherapy, and hypnologist continue to draw on the same Greek root.
Related word forms
How hypnotics is actually used
Hypnotics is normally plural and has a chiefly medical or pharmacological tone. In clinical usage, “sedative-hypnotic” denotes a broad category of medicines that depress the nervous system and induce sleep.