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Glite Dictionary
😴 Related to narcolepsy 😴 A person with narcolepsy 💊 A sleep-inducing drug
narcoleptic

narcoleptic

4 8.7
Relating to a sleep condition that makes people suddenly fall asleep during the day
  • adjective
  • /ˌnɑr.kəˈlɛp.tɪk/
  • Specialized
: narcoléptico
  • The narcoleptic student sometimes stared off in class, waking up only when his name was called.

I lost it and dropped like someone seized by narcoleptic sleep.

Examples

  • After a long day, Sarah felt narcoleptic and struggled to stay awake on the couch.

  • In short, the result of listening to Love and Theft is more narcoleptic than satisfying.

    Blog text (14)

  • - Well, he must be narcoleptic.

    Rat Race (2001)

  • What if he was a narcoleptic.

    City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (1994)

  • The narcoleptic Argentinean is unconscious.

    Moulin Rouge! (2001)

  • I noticed it was pretty crummy coffee, but being narcoleptic, I have even less morning sentience than your average.

    Blog text (10)

  • I'm narcoleptic.

    The Pest (1997)

  • When, after several months of narcoleptic-like stupor, I finally saw her, I had already fallen into the work that my no-man's identity made absurdly easy for me.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • By then, Spiritualized had nailed its symphonic, narcoleptic gospel, and the show was blistering loud, bright, hot, and hypnotic.

    Blog text (27)

  • His narcoleptic condition meant he often fell asleep unexpectedly during meetings.

How Sleepy

narcoleptic
  • Specialized
4 8.7
nodder
  • Informal
8.0
sleepyhead
  • Informal
18 4.1

Surface Forms

narcoleptic positive

Morphology

narcoleptic = narcolepsy (semi-transparent) = narc + leptic

The term 'narcoleptic' is derived from 'narcolepsy', with the suffix '-ic' indicating a relation to the condition, but the root 'narc' is not commonly recognized as related to sleep.

Etymology

Narcoleptic comes from Greek parts narco- meaning 'sleep' or 'numbness' and -leptic meaning 'seizure' or 'attack', and the same narco- appears in narcotic, a drug that can make you sleepy. So narcoleptic describes something relating to narcolepsy or to sudden, uncontrollable sleepiness.