Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Opiate.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A substance that is like opium.
  • noun physiology Any of the natural substances, such as an endorphin, released in the body in response to pain.
  • noun pharmacology Any of a group of synthetic compounds that exhibit similarities to the opium alkaloids that occur in nature.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[opi(um) + –oid.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From opium +‎ -oid

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word opioid.

Examples

  • "There is little evidence that long-term opioid use is efficacious in reducing pain, much less in restoring function, the true goal of treatment," Seth Berkowitz and Mitchell Katz, physicians at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, wrote in

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com The Huffington Post News Editors 2011

  • Smoking, as well as the medicinal use of opioid painkillers such as oxycodone, are independent predictors of longer-term opioid pain medication use among patients with chronic back pain caused by lumbar spine conditions, a new U.S. study finds.

    Medlogs - Recent stories 2010

  • Therefore, the researchers were unable to consider substance abuse as a predictor of long-term opioid use.

    Newswise: Latest News 2010

  • The implications are controversial as published studies provide little evidence indicating which patients will benefit from long-term opioid treatment.

    Newswise: Latest News 2010

  • Smoking, as well as the medicinal use of opioid painkillers such as oxycodone, are independent predictors of longer-term opioid pain medication use among patients with chronic back pain caused by lumbar spine conditions, a new U.S. study finds.

    Medlogs - Recent stories 2010

  • The researchers analyzed the medical, social and demographic characteristics of the participants and concluded that smoking and nonsurgical treatment independently predicted long-term opioid use, but pain severity did not.

    Medlogs - Recent stories 2010

  • Veteran patients who receive long-term opioid prescriptions generally are treated with modest and st ...

    THE MEDICAL NEWS Editors 2010

  • The researchers analyzed the medical, social and demographic characteristics of the participants and concluded that smoking and nonsurgical treatment independently predicted long-term opioid use, but pain severity did not.

    Medlogs - Recent stories 2010

  • Smoking, as well as the medicinal use of opioid painkillers such as oxycodone, are independent predictors of longer-term opioid pain medication use among patients with chronic back pain caused by lumbar spine conditions, a new U.S. study finds.

    Medlogs - Recent stories 2010

  • The researchers analyzed the medical, social and demographic characteristics of the participants and concluded that smoking and nonsurgical treatment independently predicted long-term opioid use, but pain severity did not.

    Medlogs - Recent stories 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • (n.) An opium-like substance produced naturally in the brain.

    (adj.) Possessing some properties characteristic of opiate. Narcotics but not derived from opium.

    (From WWFTD)

    June 7, 2008