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any of a class of substances that blunt the senses, as opium, morphine, belladonna, and alcohol, that in large quantities produce euphoria, stupor, or coma, that when used constantly can cause habituation or addiction, and that are used in medicine to relieve pain, cause sedation, and induce sleep.
anything that exercises a soothing or numbing effect or influence:
Television is a narcotic for many people.
of or having the power to produce , as a drug.
pertaining to or of the nature of .
of or relating to narcotics or their use.
used by, or in the treatment of, narcotic addicts.
Contemporary Examples

Though I prescribe hardly any narcotic pain medications, most ADHD medications are also Schedule II.
DEA’s Painkiller Crackdown Too Little, Too Late? Russell Saunders August 26, 2014

Those lines are also great places to score Xanax and crack, both drugs that are not affected by narcotic antagonists.
This Anti-Heroin Drug Is Now King of the Jailhouse Drug Trade Daniel Genis July 16, 2014

Coca leaf, on the other hand, was criminalized after the UN Single Convention on narcotic Drugs of 1961 (PDF), says Huertas.
Why We Need Medical Meth + Cocaine Valerie Vande Panne February 21, 2014

For some citizens, the presence of spending money plus the narcotic of nationalism is enough to make this seem a fair trade.
Market Leninism vs. the West John Avlon March 29, 2014

But it can also become a narcotic that distracts us from what really matters.
Charlie Sheen’s “Winning” Streak: Celebrity Gossip Is Making Us Stupid John Avlon December 31, 2011

Historical Examples

It is the most destructive of narcotic poisons, and it is the most intoxicating.
The Seven Curses of London James Greenwood

At best they have been but a “consolation prize” or a narcotic.
Sex=The Unknown Quantity Ali Nomad

Her lover, in a yacht, found her hiding-place, and got a friendly nun to give her some narcotic known to the Samoyeds.
Adventures among Books Andrew Lang

Alcohol is not a stimulant, but is really a narcotic that is very depressing.
Boy Scouts Handbook Boy Scouts of America

Some persons are drawn into the use of opium, solely for its narcotic and intoxicating influence.
A Practical Physiology Albert F. Blaisdell

noun
any of a group of drugs, such as heroin, morphine, and pethidine, that produce numbness and stupor. They are used medicinally to relieve pain but are sometimes also taken for their pleasant effects; prolonged use may cause addiction
anything that relieves pain or induces sleep, mental numbness, etc
any illegal drug
adjective
of, relating to, or designating narcotics
of or relating to narcotics addicts or users
of or relating to narcosis
n.

late 14c., from Old French narcotique (early 14c.), noun use of adjective, and directly from Medieval Latin narcoticum, from Greek narkotikon, neuter of narkotikos “making stiff or numb,” from narkotos, verbal adjective of narcoun “to benumb, make unconscious,” from narke “numbness, deadness, stupor, cramp” (also “the electric ray”), perhaps from PIE root *(s)nerq- “to turn, twist.” Sense of “any illegal drug” first recorded 1926, American English. Related: Narcotics.
adj.

c.1600, from Middle French narcotique (14c.) or German narkotisch and directly from Medieval Latin narcoticus, from Greek narkotikos (see narcotic (n.)). Related: Narcotical (1580s).

narcotic nar·cot·ic (när-kŏt’ĭk)
n.
A drug derived from opium or opiumlike compounds, with potent analgesic effects associated with significant alteration of mood and behavior, and with the potential for dependence and tolerance following repeated administration. adj.
Capable of inducing a state of stuporous analgesia.
narcotic
(när-kŏt’ĭk)
Any of a group of highly addictive analgesic drugs derived from opium or opiumlike compounds. Narcotics can cause drowsiness and significant alterations of mood and behavior.