nightshade
Americannoun
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nightshades
plural
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any of various plants of the genus Solanum, especially the black nightshade or the bittersweet.
-
any of various other related plants, as the deadly nightshade.
noun
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any of various solanaceous plants, such as deadly nightshade, woody nightshade, and black nightshade
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of nightshade
before 1000; Middle English; Old English nihtscada. See night, shade
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.
See Examples For:
“They eat the leaves of the nightshade, but that would be death for you or me . . . It’s a puzzle,” she warns her daughter Jaehaera in a Season 3 episode.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
"It detoxifies the body and is good in weight loss," says James Wathiru, who ordered "managu" - or African nightshade.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2025
The plant is part of the black nightshade family and is harmful if eaten, especially its unripened berries or leaves, and can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, trembling, paralysis, coma or even death.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2024
Since the studies focus solely on silverleaf nightshade, Kariyat said other weeds -- even the plant's family relatives -- may or may not react the same way to frequent mowing.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2024
In that place, where they tore the nightshade and black* berry patches from their roots to make room for die Medallion City Golf Course, there was once a neighborhood.
From "Sula" by Toni Morrison
These discoveries are helping scientists to better understand the resilience and evolutionary story of Solanaceae, or nightshades, a sprawling family of plants that includes tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, peppers, tobacco and petunias.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2024
There are nightshades like eggplants and tomatoes as well as leaner Japanese eggplants and numerous kinds of peppers.
From National Geographic ● Oct. 19, 2023
In the case of seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady, it has manifested in an adherence to an exceedingly restrictive diet that excludes sugar, dairy and inflammatory nightshades such as tomatoes, mushrooms and eggplant.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 10, 2022
And just wait until you hear about what nightshades are doing to your testosterone levels.
From Golf Digest ● Feb. 3, 2020
We might fail to notice the handful of Carolina nightshades or thistles among the other plants.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
