What does narcosis mean?
Narcosis is a state of reduced activity, stupor, or impaired consciousness caused by a drug. In medicine, the term most often describes the controlled condition produced by anaesthetics or other drugs that depress the nervous system, allowing pain relief or surgery. It can also describe a narcotic-induced state of mental and physical dullness. The word appears in clinical discussion, psychoanalytic writing, and broader descriptions of intoxication, but it generally sounds more technical and more severe than terms such as altered awareness or intoxication alone. Narcosis is useful when precision matters because it identifies a condition produced by chemical depression of consciousness rather than sleep, hypnosis, or ordinary tiredness. The related word narcotic names a drug capable of causing such a state, while the same Greek root connects narcosis with ideas of numbness, sedation, and loss of sensitivity.
nounA state of stupor, reduced activity, or impaired consciousness caused by a drug, especially an anesthetic or narcotic. In broader usage, it can refer to the altered state produced by intoxication.
- A drug-induced state of stupor, reduced activity, or impaired consciousness, especially under anesthesia or the influence of a narcotic.
"The anesthetic induced a controlled narcosis in which the patient could be treated without experiencing pain."
"The anaesthetic induced deep narcosis, allowing the surgeon to operate while the patient remained unconscious."
"The memoir describes the gradual narcosis produced by prolonged intoxication and the difficulty of returning to ordinary life."
The plural is grammatically regular but uncommon in ordinary usage.
"Several narcoses were described in the clinical report."
From a Greek root meaning “to numb,” narcosis names the powerful state in which drugs can switch consciousness off.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does narcosis come from?
Narcosis combines the Greek verb narkoun, meaning “to numb,” with the suffix -osis, used in the formation of words denoting a condition or process. The combination passed through New Latin into modern medical usage, where it developed a sense associated especially with the stupor or altered consciousness caused by narcotic drugs. Its relatives narcotic, narcoticism, and narcomania preserve the same root and its associations with numbness, sedation, and drug dependence.
How narcosis is actually used
Narcosis is primarily a formal medical term, though it is also used in psychology and in literary or colloquial descriptions of intoxication. It usually suggests a more profound alteration of awareness than a merely relaxed or mildly impaired state.
Easily confused with narcosis
Hypnosis is a state of focused attention and heightened suggestibility, often with awareness retained, whereas narcosis is a drug-induced state of reduced activity, stupor, or impaired consciousness.
A narcotic is a drug that depresses the nervous system and can produce pain relief or altered consciousness; narcosis is the resulting state or condition.