Meanings
plural alizarins · alternative alizarine
- countableuncountablechemistryA red substance, 1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone, extracted from madder root and used as a dye.
glass headed pins, oil-golds and copper greens, anthracite blues, alizarins,
1946, Elizabeth Bishop, “Roosters”, in North and South1 more example
In 1883, the German output of alizarin, the brilliant red chemical that imitated natural carmine, reached twelve thousand tons, dwarfing the amount being produced by Perkin's factory in London.
2010, Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of all Maladies, Fourth Estate, published 2011, page 82
Synonyms & antonyms
nounan orange-red crystalline compound used in making red pigments and in dyeing
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchalizarine
- Englishalizarin
Borrowed from French alizarine, corresponding to alizari + -in.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 茜素
- 茜素 (qiànsù)1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone
French alizarine
- alizarine1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone
German Alizarin
- Alizarin1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone
Irish alasairin, alasairín
- alasairin1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone
- alasairín1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone
Italian alizarina
- alizarina1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone
Polish alizaryna
- alizaryna1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone
Portuguese alizarina, garança
- alizarina1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone
- garança1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
alizarin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alizarin
“alizarin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alizarin. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “alizarin,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alizarin.
Source: alizarin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.