wolfsbane

American

[woolfs-beyn] / ˈwʊlfsˌbeɪn /

noun

any of several plants in the aconite genus Aconitum, including A. lycoctonum, bearing stalks of hood-shaped purplish-blue flowers, the monkshood A. napellus, which yields a poisonous alkaloid used medicinally, and numerous garden varieties in various colors.

wolfsbane British

/ ˈwʊlfsˌbeɪn /

noun

any of several poisonous N temperate plants of the ranunculaceous genus Aconitum, esp A. lycoctonum, which has yellow hoodlike flowers

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of wolfsbane

1540–50; wolf + 's 1 + bane

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Henry Zaga and Blu Hunt play Wolfsbane, Magik, Cannonball, Sunspot and Mirage – the Mutants who are held in a secure facility and must fight to save themselves.

From The Guardian • Jan. 2, 2018

She’s set to play Rahne Sinclair, aka Wolfsbane, in the Marvel film adaptation The New Mutants.

From The Verge • Nov. 3, 2017

Brittany and Nick do provide other evidence, like that Malfoy and Snape are close because Malfoy is getting Wolfsbane potion from Snape and that, maybe, Rowling will reveal this on Pottermore.

From Time • Aug. 19, 2015

Aconitum, part of the buttercup family, goes by various nicknames depending on the exact species - Monkshood, Wolfsbane, the Queen of Poisons, or Devil's Helmet.

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2014

“I doubt he invented the Wolfsbane Potion without considerable hard work!”

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023