indole
Americannoun
noun
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A white crystalline compound obtained from coal tar or various plants and produced by the bacterial decomposition of tryptophan in the intestine. It is used in the perfume industry and as a reagent. Chemical formula: C 8 H 7 N.
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Any of various derivatives of this compound.
Etymology
Origin of indole
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.
Based on these early results, the researchers note that the newly characterized indole metabolites could one day form the basis for therapies that help counter the effects of aging on the skin.
From Science Daily • Nov. 29, 2025
They used several analytical tools, including spectrometry, isotope labeling and computational approaches, to determine the chemical structures of 12 distinct indole metabolites within the mixture.
From Science Daily • Nov. 29, 2025
The putrescence comes from the molecule indole, which is in certain flowers like orange blossom and magnolia, as well as in excrement.
From Salon • Apr. 30, 2022
This is in part the work of indole, an aromatic compound present in foul-smelling substances like coal tar and feces, which in trace amounts gives the most delicate of flowers an almost animal opulence.
From New York Times • Oct. 11, 2021
Sum juvenis, forma spectabilis, indole gaudens Maturusque ævi, nullus præstantior alter, Moribus egregiis populo laudatus ab omni.
From The Dance of Death Exhibited in Elegant Engravings on Wood with a Dissertation on the Several Representations of that Subject but More Particularly on Those Ascribed to Macaber and Hans Holbein by Douce, Francis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
