: a crystalline barbiturate C12H12N2O3 used as a hypnotic, sedative, and anticonvulsant
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebIn separate groups, Applewhite and his followers mixed the barbiturate phenobarbital into applesauce and washed it down with a swig of vodka, tying plastic bags over their heads to assure asphyxiation. Mary Ellen Cagnassola, PEOPLE.com, 26 Mar. 2022 The case of Brandon Bernard, who received a lethal injection of phenobarbital at a U.S. prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, was a rare execution of a person who was in his teens when his crime was committed.The Salt Lake Tribune, 11 Dec. 2020 That Barr, Sessions, and their underlings got Trump to kill so many people, so fast, and with such opacity around the sourcing of the drugs involved, particularly the controversial phenobarbital, bespeaks a deep, strange problem in America. Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, 11 Jan. 2021 Mandell’s 5-year-old Labradoodle, Frankie Feldman, was diagnosed with the disorder last year and put on phenobarbital and Keppra by his vet. Susan Spillman, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2019
Word History
First Known Use
1919, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
phenobarbital
noun
phe·no·bar·bi·tal ˌfē-nō-ˈbär-bə-ˌtȯl, -tȧl
: a crystalline barbiturate C12H12N2O3 that is used orally or is administered by injection in the form of its sodium salt C12H11N2NaO3 as a hypnotic and sedative see luminal