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Glite Dictionary
💊 A calming drug 🐢 Slowing activity
depressant

depressant

1 6.6
Causing the body or mind to work more slowly
  • adjective
  • /dɪˈprɛsənt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : depresor
  • Alcohol is a common depressant that affects mood.

Examples

  • Some medications have a depressant effect on the central nervous system.

  • Many people are unaware that caffeine can act as a depressant in high doses.

  • Alcohol is considered a depressant because it slows down brain function and neural activity.

  • Caffeine is a stimulant, but antihistamines often act as a depressant on alertness.

  • The doctor explained that the medication is a depressant that can help relieve anxiety.

  • Alcohol is often misused as a depressant because it reduces brain activity.

  • Many people are unaware that some sleep aids are actually depressants that slow down mental processes.

Antonyms

stimulative
  • Specialized
6 7.9

Causes the body and mind to become more active, like coffee or some medicines

stimulating
1 3.9

To make someone feel more awake and interested

How Suppressive

anesthetic
  • Specialized
1 5.7
depressant
  • Specialized
1 6.6
suppressive
6 7.0

Surface Forms

depressant positive

Morphology

depressant = depress (transparent) = depress + ant

Formed by adding the productive suffix '-ant' to the verb 'depress'; the adjectival sense 'reducing or suppressing activity' is a direct adjectival derivation.

Etymology

The adjective depressant also comes from de- 'down' and press 'to push', the same root you see in press and pressure. That's why we use depressant to describe a substance that reduces or slows physiological or mental activity.