hypnotic
/hɪpˈnɒtɪk
/adjective
1Relating to or producing hypnosis: a hypnotic state...
- She maintains that hypnotic subjects are asked basically to take on ‘what really amounts to a parody of epileptic symptoms.’
- The importance of using both high and low hypnotizable subjects in hypnotic pain research is emphasized.
- That means that the eye roll accounts for very little of the subject's hypnotic behavior.
1.1Exerting a compelling or soporific effect: her voice had a hypnotic quality...
- His voice may not be as pure as it once was, nor soar quite so magnificently, but it is still wonderfully hypnotic.
- ‘Remember Me’ contains one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time and ‘Fear Of Drowning’ is wonderfully hypnotic.
- This celebration conveys its own hypnotic delight, inviting us to suspend unanswerable questions about its ultimate purpose.
Synonyms
mesmerizing, mesmeric, spellbinding, entrancing, bewitching, fascinating, irresistible, compelling;
soporific, sleep-inducing, sleep-producing, somnolent, somniferous, sedative, numbing;
Medicine stupefacient, stupefactive
rare somnific
2 Medicine (Of a drug) sleep-inducing.Patients typically need large doses of sedative hypnotic drugs and four-point restraints during this stage....
- The team decided to try a mild hypnotic drug on an as-needed basis to help the patient sleep better during restless nights.
- This is especially true in elderly people and for hypnotic drugs.
noun
1 Medicine A sleep-inducing drug: hypnotics may be prescribed...
- ‘Pediatricians recommend everything from benadryl to hypnotics to chamomile tea,’ she says.
- Rates of use of antidepressants and hypnotics were similar for both groups.
- Even in Thailand, with much available over the counter, hypnotics are not OTC and should only be taken as the last resort.
2A person under or open to hypnosis.
Derivatives
hypnotically
/ adverb ...- The patient, referred by hospice for psychological care, was treated with hypnotically facilitated psychotherapy.
- The patient was screened hypnotically by using a modified version of the Hypnotic Induction Profile.
- The Eastern-sounding middle movement makes use of a pretty and hypnotically insistent pattern.
Origin
Early 17th century: from French hypnotique, via late Latin from Greek hupnōtikos 'causing sleep', from hupnoun 'put to sleep', from hupnos 'sleep'.
This goes back to Greek hupnōtikos ‘narcotic, causing sleep’, from hupnoun ‘put to sleep’.