What does sedated mean?
Sedated means made calm, subdued, or less responsive, most often by a sedative medication. In clinical contexts, it describes a person whose level of activity or awareness has been reduced for medical treatment or surgery. The adjective can also be used figuratively to suggest that someone or something has been soothed, subdued, or made less lively: a quiet atmosphere might leave the room feeling sedated. In everyday language, the word often suggests a controlled reduction in alertness rather than complete unconsciousness. It is especially common in medical reporting and is readily understood in both British and American English. The related words sedate, sedating, sedation, and sedative express the process or the substances involved.
adjectiveSedated describes someone or something that has been made calm, less active, or less responsive, especially with a sedative medication. Figuratively, it can mean emotionally calmed, subdued, or dulled.
- Made calm, less active, or less responsive, especially by a sedative drug.
- Figuratively, calmed, subdued, or made less lively or alert.
"The patient remained sedated while the doctors performed the procedure."
"The heavily sedated patient was monitored throughout the night."
"The music was so soothing that the entire room felt sedated."
Sedated is the adjective form of sedate: it can describe both a medically tranquilized patient and, figuratively, anything made less lively or alert.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sedated come from?
The word comes from the Latin verb sedare, meaning “to calm” or “to make free from agitation.” In English, sedate developed into an adjective meaning calm or unruffled and a verb meaning to make calm, often by means of a drug. Sedated is the past tense and past participle of sedate, and it became especially common in medical usage as the meaning narrowed toward being made calm or less responsive by medication.
Related word forms
How sedated is actually used
The medical use is standard in British and American English. The figurative use is informal and generally means that something has been made less energetic, emotional, or alert.
Easily confused with sedated
Sedated describes a person or thing that has been made calm or less responsive, whereas a sedative is a substance used to produce that effect.