depressant

English

Etymology

From depress +‎ -ant.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /dɪˈpɹɛsənt/

• Audio (Southern England):

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• Audio (US):

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• Rhymes: -ɛsənt

Noun

depressant (countable and uncountable, plural depressants)

1. (pharmacology) A pharmacological substance which decreases neuronal or physiological activity.

   Alcohol acts first as a stimulant and then as a depressant.

   • 2012 November 15, Maxwell Newfield, “Prescription drug deaths: Two stories”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     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.

   • 2024 April 10 [2020 August 27], Nick B., “Which Drugs Are Uppers And Downers?”, in The Freedom Center‎^[2]:

     On the opposite end of the drug side effect spectrum are downers. This slang term refers to CNS depressants, the types of drugs that produce a sedative effect by slowing down the messages sent and received between the central nervous system and the brain.

2. (mining) An agent that inhibits the flotation of a mineral or minerals.

Derived terms

• antidepressant
• cardiodepressant
• immunodepressant
• manic-depressant
• neurodepressant
• prodepressant

Translations

substance which decreases neuronal or physiological activity

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 镇静剂 (zh) (zhènjìngjì)

• Finnish: depressantti (fi), lamaute
• Hindi: अवनमक (avanmak), अवसादक (hi) (avsādak)
• Indonesian: penenang (id), depresan
• Irish: dúlagrán m
• Korean: 억제제(抑制劑) (eokjeje)
• Malay: ڤننڠ (penenang), depresen
• Maori: (pūroi) haupēhi
• Persian: سرکوب‌کننده (sarkub-konande)

Adjective

depressant (comparative more depressant, superlative most depressant)

1. (pharmacology) Reducing functional or nervous activity.
   • 1876, Alfred Alexander Woodhull, Studies, chiefly clinical […] :

     the conception of the asomatous depressant malaria