# sedation vs sedative

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### sedation
*noun · frequency rank #30,964*
The act of sedating, especially by use of sedatives.

### sedative
*noun · IPA /ˈsɛdətɪv/ · frequency rank #29,453*
An agent or drug that sedates, having a calming or soothing effect, or inducing sleep.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sedation-vs-sedative