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Glite Dictionary
somnific

somnific

9.9
Making someone feel sleepy or fall asleep
  • adjective
  • /sɑːmˈnɪfɪk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : somnifero
  • The somnific effect of the medication made it difficult for her to stay awake.

Examples

  • The somnific qualities of the lullaby helped the baby fall asleep.

  • Warm milk is sometimes thought to have somnific properties, promoting better sleep.

  • His voice had a somnific quality that lulled the audience into drowsiness.

  • This tea is somnific.

  • His voice had a somnific quality that lulled the audience into drowsiness.

  • The somnific effect of the medication made it difficult for her to stay awake.

  • Warm milk is sometimes thought to have somnific properties, promoting better sleep.

Synonyms

soporific
vssomnific
3 8.6

Making you feel sleepy

is about tending to induce sleep rather than forcibly producing it
somnolent
vssomnific
  • Formal
2 8.4

Feeling sleepy or making you want to sleep

refers to causing sleep rather than describing the sleepy state
hypnagogic
vssomnific
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Happening just before you fall asleep

is broader meaning it tends to cause sleep not only before falling asleep
somniferous
vssomnific
  • Specialized
9.9

Causes someone to sleep or feel very sleepy

is milder meaning it tends to induce sleep rather than actively cause it
soporiferous
vssomnific
  • Formal
9.9

Making someone feel very sleepy

is less forceful meaning it tends to make one sleepy rather than force sleep
dormitive
vssomnific
  • Archaic
9.9

Making someone feel sleepy

is milder meaning it tends to cause sleep rather than force it
slumbrous
vssomnific
  • Literature
9.9

A calm, quiet mood that makes you feel sleepy

is focused on producing sleepiness directly rather than creating a calm mood
slumberous
vssomnific
  • Literature
7.6

Calm and quiet in a way that makes you feel sleepy

is more about actively causing sleep rather than just suggesting tiredness
hypnogogic
vssomnific
  • Specialized
9.9

A drowsy state that happens just before falling asleep

is about causing sleep in general rather than a specific pre sleep state

How Sleep-Inducing

hypnotic
  • Specialized
21 7.0
soporific
3 8.6
somnific
  • Specialized
9.9
sedative
2 5.8
calming
6 2.6

Surface Forms

somnific positive

Morphology

somnific = sleep (opaque) = somn + ific

The combining form 'somn-' and the suffix '-ific' are Latin-derived and are not recognizable productive morphemes to an average B1 learner, so the composition is not useful for guessing meaning.

Etymology

The word somnific comes from Latin parts somn- meaning 'sleep' and -fic meaning 'making'. You can see the somn- part in insomnia, and somnific is like 'making sleep', so it describes something that makes you sleepy.