sedate
verb · adjective
Simple meaning
Remaining composed and dignified, and avoiding too much activity or excitement.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
sihdaytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
sɪˈdeɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Cause to be calm or quiet as by administering a sedative to
“The patient must be sedated before the operation.”
To calm or put (a person) to sleep using a sedative drug.
To make tranquil.
adjective
of a person or their behaviour
Remaining composed and dignified, and avoiding too much activity or excitement.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Cause to be calm or quiet as by administering a sedative to
Used this way, sedate is a common word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It keeps things gentle rather than emphatic.
“The patient must be sedated before the operation.”
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Calm and reassuring
- Usage feel
- Understated and gentle
Nearby words
- tranquilize , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use sedate
- “The patient must be sedated before the operation.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A drug that reduces excitability and calms a person.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.