Opium

Pronunciation

• GenAm IPA: /ˈoÊŠpiÉ™m/
• RP IPA: /ˈəʊpiÉ™m/

Origin

From Latin opium and Ancient Greek ὄπιον, from ὀπός (opos, "juice of a plant"), from Proto-Indo-European *swokwos ("juice, resin").

Full definition of opium

Noun

1. (uncountable) A yellow-brown, addictive narcotic drug obtained from the dried juice of unripe pods of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, and containing alkaloids such as morphine, codeine, and papaverine.
2. (countable) Anything that numbs or stupefies.
• "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, . . . It is the opium of the people." - Karl Marx

Synonyms