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

Those three drugs alone have made up over 93% of seizures in recent years, while ecstasy, fentanyl, heroin, ketamine, LSD and methamphetamine make up the majority of the remaining 7%. —Kate Linderman, Miami Herald, 6 Feb. 2025

Prosecutors said the pair were given a fatal cocktail of drugs — made up of cocaine, fentanyl, ketamine, heroin, MDMA and the date rape drug GBH — before they were dumped outside two different hospitals some 12 hours later. —Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 5 Feb. 2025

Regarding drugs, the prior indictment accused Combs of possessing cocaine, oxycodone, Ecstasy, and ketamine. —Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 30 Jan. 2025

This treatment is delivered through a nasal spray and relies not on ketamine, but one of its two primary components called esketamine. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 22 Jan. 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