narcoleptic

/ˌnɑrkəˈlɛptɪk/

Other forms: narcoleptics

Someone who's narcoleptic has a disorder that makes them fall asleep very abruptly in the middle of the day. A narcoleptic bus driver could be dangerous.

Narcoleptic can be an adjective or a noun, describing the condition of narcolepsy or a person who suffers from it. A narcoleptic has a sleep disorder that makes him exhausted, even after a full night's sleep. Some narcoleptics drop off to sleep in the middle of a sentence, while others just become very sleepy throughout the day. A French doctor coined the word narcolepsie from the Greek roots narke, "numbness or stupor," and lepsis, "attack or seizure."

Definitions of narcoleptic

1. adjective

   of or relating to narcolepsy
2. noun

   a person who has narcolepsy
   type of:

   diseased person, sick person, sufferer

   a person suffering from an illness
3. noun

   a soporific drug that produces an uncontrollable desire to sleep
   type of:

   hypnotic, soporific

   a drug that induces sleep