Definition of "opiate" []

• Any of various sedative narcotics containing opium or one or more of its natural or synthetic derivatives. (noun)
• A drug, hormone, or other chemical substance having sedative or narcotic effects similar to those containing opium or its derivatives: a natural brain opiate. Also called opioid. (noun)
• Something that dulls the senses and induces relaxation or torpor. (noun)
• Containing opium or any of its derivatives. (adjective)
• Resembling opium or its derivatives in activity. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Dr. Marcus Rempel, medical director for Neighborcare Health, said providers were disturbed to find that many of the patients inundating its six local clinics seeking narcotic pain relief weren't 50- or 60-year-old workers with back injuries, but young adults of 25 or 30, asking for long-term opiate medication."
• "And, of course, they brought their heavyweight weapon, the one I believe that Lenin called the opiate of the masses: religion."
• "You haul his little butt down to the "druggie zone" - leave him there for a while so he can feast his eyes on the real results of long term opiate or crack use ... kind of like the old "scared straight" concept."