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.

Monkshood is also known as wolfsbane, which Harry Potter fans might recognize as a potion brewed to calm werewolves.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 28, 2023

We should investigate the possibility of using silver-lined space capsules and the hydroponic cultivation of wolfsbane.

From Scientific American • Oct. 27, 2023

Ever since a cave man reached too quickly for a spear, hamstring strains have been the wolfsbane of warriors — weekend and otherwise.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2015

In ramrodding an outfit to market, or seeing a plan to completion, all must stand clear of brackish water, wolfsbane and loco weed.

From The Land of Look Behind by Brown, Paul Cameron

Actions which produce different results to what are expected are thus spoken of:— "You set saffron and there came up wolfsbane."

From The Folk-lore of Plants by Dyer, T. F. Thiselton (Thomas Firminger Thiselton)

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