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Glite Dictionary
😴 Causing sleepiness 💊 A sleep drug
soporific

soporific

3 8.6
Making you feel sleepy
  • adjective
  • /ˌsɑːpəˈrɪfɪk/
translation icon : soporífico
  • The professor's monotone lecture was so soporific that many students struggled to stay awake.

So David Hume is responsible for Kant leaving this soporific state.

Examples

  • These engines have a mighty soporific effect at idling speed.

    Zaat (1971)

  • There is something in the air that is intensely soporific.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The mood is lazy, soporific.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Soft, soporific music was playing in the background, white noise, the kind no one really listens to.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • You would actually be surprised at how sleepy and soporific that change can be.

  • Recalling his mother's practice of reading him and his brothers to sleep at night, Lane relates, "My mother's voice was a soporific."

    Academic text (2014)

  • The patter on the barn roof then took on a soporific rhythm, and often the unicorns would doze and dream.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • I lay on the pallet and dozed for a while, lulled by the soporific hum from the nearby hives.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Dickens's sociological ramble seemed to be working as a powerful soporific upon Inspector Field, who was compelled to snap himself back to alertness.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The soft sound of rain had a soporific effect, lulling her to sleep on the couch.

Synonyms

somnolent
vssoporific
  • Formal
2 8.4

Feeling sleepy or making you want to sleep

refers to causing drowsiness rather than describing a sleepy state
snoozy
vssoporific
  • Informal
1 4.6

Feeling sleepy or making you want to sleep

is the neutral formal term for causing sleepiness rather than casual tone
narcotic
vssoporific
  • NSFW
1 7.3

Causes people to feel slow, sleepy, and lose focus

describes general sleepiness without implying drug induced mental sluggishness
dormitive
vssoporific
  • Archaic
9.9

Making someone feel sleepy

is a general term for making someone feel drowsy
somniferous
vssoporific
  • Specialized
9.9

Causes someone to sleep or feel very sleepy

is broader, meaning anything that produces drowsiness rather than clear sleep
soporiferous
vssoporific
  • Formal
9.9

Making someone feel very sleepy

focuses on causing drowsiness generally rather than deep sleep
somnific
vssoporific
  • Specialized
9.9

Making someone feel sleepy or fall asleep

is the general idea of making someone feel drowsy
slumbrous
vssoporific
  • Literature
9.9

A calm, quiet mood that makes you feel sleepy

emphasizes making someone drowsy directly rather than a peaceful mood
slumberous
vssoporific
  • Literature
7.6

Calm and quiet in a way that makes you feel sleepy

focuses on inducing drowsiness directly rather than creating a calm mood
slumbery
vssoporific
  • Archaic
9.9

Having a sleepy, calm feeling that makes you relax

is the standard modern term for causing sleepiness today

Antonyms

energizing
1 4.1

An action that gives energy and makes someone feel more active

Compounds

soporific effect
8.4

To make someone feel sleepy or ready to sleep

How Sleep-Inducing

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

Surface Forms

soporific positive
soporificer comparative
soporificest superlative

Morphology

soporific = sopor + ific

The combining form 'sopor' is not a productive or recognizable English base for most learners and the suffix '-ific' is not transparently understood, so the meaning 'causing sleepiness' cannot be reliably derived by a B1 learner.

Etymology

Soporific (adjective) also comes from the Latin sopor 'deep sleep' and -fic 'making', so it means 'making sleep', which is why a boring speech or a strong medicine can be called soporific when it makes people feel drowsy.