Soporific vs Dormitive - What's the difference?
soporific | dormitive |
Something inducing sleep, especially a drug.
(figuratively) Something boring or dull.
Tending to induce sleep.
*
* 1909 , (Beatrix Potter), (The Tale of The Flopsy Bunnies) , [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14220/14220-h/14220-h.htm]:
(lb) boring, dull
Causing sleep.
* {{quote-book
, year=1916
, author=John Dewey
, title=
, passage=But "imitation" throws no light upon why they so act; it repeats the fact as an explanation of itself. It is an explanation of the same order as the famous saying that opium puts men to sleep because of its dormitive power.}}
* {{quote-book
, year=1673
, author=Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin)
, title=Le Malade Imaginere, Act III, Interlude iii
, passage=Quare Opium facit dormire: ... Quia est in eo Virtus dormitiva. (Why Opium produces sleep: ... Because there is in it a dormitive power.)
}}
As nouns the difference between soporific and dormitive
is that soporific is something inducing sleep, especially a drug while dormitive is a medicine to promote sleep; a soporific or opiate.As adjectives the difference between soporific and dormitive
is that soporific is tending to induce sleep while dormitive is causing sleep.soporific
English
Alternative forms
* soporifick (obsolete)Noun
(en noun)- The doctor prescribed a soporific to help the patient sleep.
Synonyms
* See alsoAdjective
(en adjective)- The professor delivered a soporific lecture.
- For we are not here to understand, as perhaps some have, that an author actually falls asleep while he is writing. It is true, that readers are too apt to be so overtaken; To say the truth, these soporific parts are so many scenes of serious artfully interwoven, in order to contrast and set off the rest;
- It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is “soporific'.” ''I'' have never felt sleepy after eating lettuces; but then ''I'' am not a rabbit. They certainly had a very ' soporific effect upon the Flopsy Bunnies!