Meanings
plural adrenalines · alternative adrenalin
- uncountableusuallybiochemistryEpinephrine, the hormone and neurotransmitter.
- uncountableusuallyExcitement; thrills.
Some people bungee jump to feel alive through the surge of adrenaline.
2 more examples
May be it's not as heavy as he thought, or may be he's on adrenaline overdrive.
1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 361Despite the crisis, the adrenaline that must have been feeding his own alarm, Tim managed to maintain his control and spoke in a subdued tone, assuring the tenderman and all of us that things would be okay.
2017, Dave Atcheson, Dead Reckoning, →ISBN
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna catecholamine secreted by the adrenal medulla in response to stress (trade name Adrenalin); stimulates autonomic nerve action
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂éd
- Proto-Italic*ad
- Proto-Italic*ad-
- Latinad-
- Englishad-
- Latinrēn
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Late Latinrēnāli
- Englishrenal
- Englishadrenal
- Englishadrenaline
From adrenal + -ine, coined by Japanese chemist Takamine Jōkichi in 1901.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans adrenalien
- adrenalienthe compound epinephrine
Arabic أَدْرِينَالِين
- أَدْرِينَالِين (ʔadrīnālīn)the compound epinephrine
Catalan adrenalina, epinefrina
- adrenalinathe compound epinephrine
- epinefrinathe compound epinephrine
Chinese Cantonese 腎上腺素 /肾上腺素
- 腎上腺素 /肾上腺素 (san⁶ soeng⁶ sin³ sou³)the compound epinephrine
Chinese Mandarin 腎上腺素 /肾上腺素
- 腎上腺素 /肾上腺素 (shènshàngxiànsù)the compound epinephrine
Czech adrenalin
- adrenalinthe compound epinephrine
Danish adrenalin
- adrenalinthe compound epinephrine
Dutch adrenaline
- adrenalinethe compound epinephrine
Esperanto adrenalino
- adrenalinothe compound epinephrine
Finnish adrenaliini
- adrenaliinithe compound epinephrine
French adrénaline
- adrénalinethe compound epinephrine
German Adrenalin
- Adrenalinthe compound epinephrine
Greek αδρεναλίνη
- αδρεναλίνη (adrenalíni)the compound epinephrine
Hebrew אדרנלין, אפינפרין
- אדרנלין (adrenalín)the compound epinephrine
- אפינפרין (epinefrín)the compound epinephrine
Hindi एड्रेनालाईन
- एड्रेनालाईन (eḍrenālāīn)the compound epinephrine
Hungarian adrenalin
- adrenalinthe compound epinephrine
Indonesian adrenalin
- adrenalinthe compound epinephrine
Irish aidréanailín
- aidréanailínthe compound epinephrine
Italian adrenalina
- adrenalinathe compound epinephrine
Japanese アドレナリン, エピネフリン
- アドレナリン (adorenarin)the compound epinephrine
- エピネフリン (epinefurin)the compound epinephrine
- 脳汁 (nōjiru)excitement
Korean 아드레날린, 에피네프린
- 아드레날린 (adeurenallin)the compound epinephrine
- 에피네프린 (epinepeurin)the compound epinephrine
Malay adrenalina
- adrenalinathe compound epinephrine
Norwegian Bokmål adrenalin
- adrenalinthe compound epinephrine
Polish adrenalina, adrenalina
- adrenalinathe compound epinephrine
- adrenalinaexcitement
Portuguese adrenalina
- adrenalinathe compound epinephrine
Romanian adrenalină
- adrenalinăthe compound epinephrine
Russian адренали́н
- адренали́н (adrenalín)the compound epinephrine
Slovak adrenalín, epinefrín
- adrenalínthe compound epinephrine
- epinefrínthe compound epinephrine
Spanish adrenalina
- adrenalinathe compound epinephrine
Swahili adrenalini
- adrenalinithe compound epinephrine
Swedish adrenalin
- adrenalinthe compound epinephrine
Tagalog adrenalina
- adrenalinathe compound epinephrine
Thai ฮอร์โมนเนื้อในต่อมหมวกไต
- ฮอร์โมนเนื้อในต่อมหมวกไตthe compound epinephrine
Turkish adrenalin
- adrenalinthe compound epinephrine
Ukrainian адреналі́н
- адреналі́н (adrenalín)the compound epinephrine
Vietnamese adrenalin, thượng thận tố
- adrenalinthe compound epinephrine
- thượng thận tốthe compound epinephrine
Cite this entry
adrenaline. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adrenaline
“adrenaline.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adrenaline. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “adrenaline,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/adrenaline.
Source: adrenaline on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.