quinine
Americannoun
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a white, bitter, slightly water-soluble alkaloid, C 2 0 H 2 4 N 2 O 2 , having needlelike crystals, obtained from cinchona bark: used in medicine chiefly in the treatment of resistant forms of malaria.
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a salt of this alkaloid, especially the sulfate.
noun
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A bitter-tasting, colorless drug derived from the bark of certain cinchona trees and used medicinally to treat malaria. For hundreds of years quinine was the only drug known to effectively combat malarial infection. It has since been largely replaced by synthetic compounds that not only relieve the symptoms of malaria but also rid the body of the malarial parasite, which quinine does not do.
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See Note at aspirin
Etymology
Origin of quinine
1820–30; < Spanish quin ( a ) (< Quechua kina bark) + -ine 2
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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.
Certain toxic compounds, like quinine, taste "bitter" to bees, so the researchers sought to find out whether this sense of taste could help them avoid drinking pesticides.
From Science Daily • Nov. 16, 2023
Carbonated water failed to do that but it did inspire the creation of medicated water, or tonic water infused with quinine from the bark of the cinchona tree.
From Salon • Jul. 27, 2023
A: At this time, the prescription medicine quinine sulfate is to be used exclusively for treating uncomplicated malaria.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 7, 2023
“The lime for scurvy, the fizzy water for anemia and other conditions, the quinine for malaria and the gin as a diuretic.”
From New York Times • Jul. 7, 2022
Every Sunday we swallow quinine tablets so bitter your tongue wants to turn itself inside out like a salted slug.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
