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opium
noun
opi·um
| \ ˈō-pē-əm
\
\
Definition of opium
1
: a bitter brownish addictive narcotic drug that consists of the dried latex obtained from immature seed capsules of the opium poppy
2
: something having an effect like that of opium
Examples of opium in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
British India was opium drunk on securing Tibet as a market route into China. — Ailsa Ross, Longreads, "Mountains, Transcending," 9 Aug. 2019 Guests describe chairs upholstered in leopard print, a twice life-sized sculpture of a naked African warrior, and a framed picture of a woman holding an opium pipe and caressing a lion skin. — Ben Widdicombe, Town & Country, "The Secret History of Jeffrey Epstein's New York Townhouse," 10 July 2019 Hong Kong was part of the humiliation, after Britain invaded the island in 1841 as a staging point for the First Opium War — forcing China to accept opium in payment for tea — which is why the return of Hong Kong meant so much. — Robyn Dixon, latimes.com, "A new protest generation in Hong Kong takes on China. Will Beijing let them win?," 5 July 2019 Conservative lawmaker Rory Stewart joined the fray at the end of May, confessing to smoking opium at a wedding in Iran. — Tara John, CNN, "British prime minister hopeful reportedly admits to cocaine use, but the public may not care," 8 June 2019 In its sequel, The Dragon Republic, Rin is now on the run and seeking to murder the Empress who betrayed her country, while struggling with her addiction to opium and the commands of the Phoenix, a god who has incredible powers. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "10 new science fiction and fantasy novels to check out this August," 1 Aug. 2019 Oklahoma’s attorneys have pointed out that two former Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries, Noramco and Tasmanian Alkaloids, produced much of the raw opium that is used by other manufacturers to produce the drugs. — Washington Post, "Oklahoma AG calls company ‘kingpin’ in state’s opioid crisis," 15 July 2019 In opium, Britain saw a way in, forcing the drug onto the Chinese market against the wishes of the Manchu emperors. — Austin Ramzy, New York Times, "On Hong Kong Handover Anniversary, Many Fear Loss of Freedoms," 1 July 2019 In another example, the shape of a graph of opium production by year in Afghanistan correlated almost exactly with a silhouette of Mount Everest. — STAT, "What if AI in health care is the next asbestos?," 19 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'opium.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for opium
opium
noun
English Language Learners Definition of opium
: a powerful illegal drug that is made from a type of poppy
See the full definition for opium in the English Language Learners Dictionary
opium
noun
opi·um
| \ ˈō-pē-əm
\
\
Kids Definition of opium
: a bitter brownish narcotic drug that is the dried juice of a poppy of Europe and Asia
opium
noun
opi·um
| \ ˈō-pē-əm
\
\
Medical Definition of opium
: a highly addictive drug that consists of the dried milky juice from the seed capsules of the opium poppy obtained from incisions made in the unripe capsules of the plant, that has a brownish yellow color, a faint smell, and a bitter and acrid taste, that is a stimulant narcotic usually producing a feeling of well-being, hallucinations, and drowsiness terminating in coma or death if the dose is excessive, that was formerly used in medicine to soothe pain but is now often replaced by derivative alkaloids (as morphine or codeine) or synthetic substitutes, and that is smoked illicitly as an intoxicant with harmful effects
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