narcoleptic

From narco- (“pertaining to sleep”) +‎ -leptic (“of or relating to a condition of seizing”).

narcoleptic (plural narcoleptics)

1. One who suffers from narcolepsy ("a disorder characterized by sudden and uncontrollable attacks of deep sleep").

narcoleptic (comparative more narcoleptic, superlative most narcoleptic)

1. Pertaining to or affected by narcolepsy.
   • 2018 June 4, Lia Eustachewich, “3-year-old girl saves mom’s life”, in New York Post‎, New York, N.Y.: News Corp, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-11-09:

     Miranda, who is narcoleptic and forgot to take her medication, was out cold for nearly 40 minutes after the plucky little girl called 911.

2. (figuratively) Lacking activity; drowsy, lethargic.
   • 2014 February 23, Gary Shteyngart, “Wet Hot Israeli Summer”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-12-25:

     A tour guide, who claimed to have been a former Israeli colonel, whisked us about while he discoursed on chickpeas, the Six-Day War and, for the Christians among us, Jesus' difficult end. But the trip was pleasant in a narcoleptic, summery kind of way.

   • 2017 May 3, Michael Paterniti, “Brad Pitt Talks Divorce, Quitting Drinking, and Becoming a Better Man”, in GQ‎, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-28:

     The loneliness of this new life, he said, is mitigated by Jacques, who spent most of the interview beached in a narcoleptic reverie at my feet, snoring and farting.

3. (figuratively) Tending to "put someone to sleep"; extremely boring or tedious.
   • 2005 July 15, Quentin Letts, “I am white, middle-class, love my wife, own my home and adore traditional TV sitcoms. So why does the BBC hate me?”, in Daily Mail‎, London: DMG Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2015-10-10:

     The debate started at 11.30am, nudging out of port with a characteristically narcoleptic speech from Lord Campbell of Alloway (Con).

• “narcoleptic”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “narcoleptic”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “narcoleptic, adj. and n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Borrowed from French narcoleptique.

narcoleptic m (plural narcoleptici)

1. narcoleptic