This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
barbiturate
[ bahr-bich-er-it, -uh-reyt; bahr-bi-toor-it, -eyt, -tyoor- ]
/ bɑrˈbɪtʃ ər ɪt, -əˌreɪt; ˌbɑr bɪˈtʊər ɪt, -eɪt, -ˈtyʊər- /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun Pharmacology.
any of a group of barbituric acid derivatives, used in medicine as sedatives and hypnotics.
QUIZ
WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?
Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!
Question 1 of 7
Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.
Origin of barbiturate
First recorded in 1925–30; barbitur(ic) + -ate2
OTHER WORDS FROM barbiturate
non·bar·bit·u·rate, nounWords nearby barbiturate
bar billiards, Barbirolli, barbital, barbitalism, barbitone, barbiturate, barbiturates, barbituric, barbituric acid, barbiturism, Barbizon School
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use barbiturate in a sentence
Because the Sarco uses nitrogen, a widely available gas, rather than the barbiturates that are typically used in euthanasia clinics, it does not require a physician to administer an injection or sign off on lethal drugs.
The messy morality of letting AI make life-and-death decisions|Will Douglas Heaven|October 13, 2022|MIT Technology ReviewIn 1952, a Houston lawyer filed an appeal on behalf of a 16-year-old girl who had spent nearly 200 days in isolation at the Gainesville State School after being held down by male guards and forcibly sedated with barbiturates.
For more than a century, Texas youth prisons have fostered abuse|Bill Bush|October 25, 2021|Washington PostThen a final injection — a concentrated barbiturate — is delivered directly into the vein, which halts all brain activity.
How at-home euthanasia can provide comfort to pets and owners|Kathryn Streeter|May 7, 2021|Washington PostNow this new and wonderful discovery is nothing but Veronal-sodium (sodium diethyl-barbiturate) under another name.
British Dictionary definitions for barbiturate
barbiturate
/ (bɑːˈbɪtjʊrɪt, -ˌreɪt) /
noun
a derivative of barbituric acid, such as phenobarbital, used in medicine as a sedative, hypnotic, or anticonvulsant
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
Scientific definitions for barbiturate
barbiturate
[ bär-bĭch′ər-ĭt ]
Any of a group of drugs that act as depressants of the central nervous system, are highly addictive, and are used primarily as sedatives and anticonvulsants. Phenobarbital and pentobarbital are examples of barbiturates.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.