ketamine

noun

ke·​ta·​mine ˈke-tə-ˌmēn  ˈkē- 

: a general anesthetic that is administered intravenously and intramuscularly in the form of its hydrochloride C₁₃H₁₆ClNO·HCl and that is used illicitly usually by being inhaled in powdered form especially for the dreamlike or hallucinogenic state it produces

Note: Ketamine is also called Special K when used as a recreational drug

Examples of ketamine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The ups and downs of their on-screen friendships are what defined the show, and their bonds have crossed over into real life, too — though their most recent reunions have had to take place without Perry, who died of acute effects of ketamine on Oct. 28, 2023. —Sophie Dodd, People.com, 6 May 2025

In Episode 6, Billy and Max wrote a wonderful, wonderful script of this ketamine dream scenario where Joe goes into his past and reconcile some of this trauma. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 27 Apr. 2025

American techno-fascism is no longer a philosophical abstraction for Silicon Valley to tinker with, in the vein of intermittent fasting or therapeutic ketamine doses. —Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2025

Their marriages began to open as parents Took death into their own hands in Europe and ketamine Nasal sprays promoted soft focus empathy that lifted The way a migraine might, the obligation to act In the meme coin space. —Ben Lerner, The New York Review of Books, 24 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

ket(one) + amine

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ketamine

• acrolein
• adenine
• alkylene
• aniline
• anthracene
• aquiline
• asphaltene
• atlantean
• atrazine
• butadiene
• butylene
• caesarean

Medical Definition

ketamine

noun

ke·​ta·​mine ˈkēt-ə-ˌmēn 

: a general anesthetic that is administered intravenously or intramuscularly in the form of its hydrochloride C₁₃H₁₆ClNO·HCl and that is used illicitly usually by being inhaled in powdered form especially for the dreamlike or hallucinogenic state it produces see special k