depressant
noun
- drug or endogenous compound that lowers neurotransmission levels
adjective
- drug or endogenous compound that lowers neurotransmission levels
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /dɪˈpɹɛsənt/
adj
Etymology: Etymology tree English depress Proto-Indo-European *-onts Latin -ns Latin -āns Old French -antbor. Proto-Indo-European *-onts Proto-Germanic *-ndz Proto-West Germanic *-andī Old English -ende Middle English -ant English -ant English depressant From depress + -ant.
- Reducing functional or nervous activity.
“the conception of the asomatous depressant malaria”
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree English depress Proto-Indo-European *-onts Latin -ns Latin -āns Old French -antbor. Proto-Indo-European *-onts Proto-Germanic *-ndz Proto-West Germanic *-andī Old English -ende Middle English -ant English -ant English depressant From depress + -ant.
- A pharmacological substance which decreases neuronal or physiological activity.
“Alcohol acts first as a stimulant and then as a depressant.”
“The prescription painkiller Emily Jackson took is a respiratory depressant that slows breathing. That in combination with the alcohol, another respiratory depressant, overwhelmed her brain, which stopped giving her heart and lungs the signal to keep functioning.”
- An agent that inhibits the flotation of a mineral or minerals.