Meanings
plural epinephrines
- countableuncountablebiochemistryA catecholamine hormone and neurotransmitter; as a hormone, secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress (when it stimulates the autonomic nervous system); as a neurotransmitter, synthesized from norepinephrine. It is also used as a medication.
At the ER, after deflating me with a cocktail of epinephrine, a steroid and an antihistamine, the doctors scolded me for not coming in more quickly: I could have died of asphyxiation.
2023 November 1, “‘We’re sedating women with self-care’: how we became obsessed with wellness”, in The Guardian, →ISSN1 more example
“Anyone who has experienced or witnessed an anaphylaxis reaction knows it can be very stressful deciding when to inject epinephrine to themselves or a child and often delay,” Dr. Jonathan Spergel, chief of the allergy program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said in a news release from ARS Pharmaceuticals.
2024 August 9, Meg Tirrell, “First nasal spray epinephrine drug for emergency allergic reactions gets FDA approval”, in CNNSynonyms: adrenaline, 4, 5-β-trihydroxy-N-methylphenethylamine
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA catecholamine hormone and neurotransmitter; as a hormone, secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress (when it stimulates the autonomic nervous system); as a neurotransmitter, synthesized from norepinephrine. It is also used as a medication.
More synonyms by meaning
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*h₁ep-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁éps
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁épi
- Proto-Hellenic*epí
- Ancient Greekἐπί (epí)
- Ancient Greekἐπῐ- (epĭ-)
- Proto-Indo-European*negʷʰrós
- Proto-Hellenic*nekʷʰrós
- Ancient Greekνεφρός (nephrós)
- Englishepinephrine
From Ancient Greek ἐπι- (epi-, “upon”) + νεφρός (nephrós, “kidney”) + -ine.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan epinefrina
- epinefrinahormone and neurotransmitter
Chinese Mandarin 腎上腺素 /肾上腺素
- 腎上腺素 /肾上腺素 (shènshàngxiànsù)hormone and neurotransmitter
Esperanto adrenalino
- adrenalinohormone and neurotransmitter
Finnish epinefriini
- epinefriinihormone and neurotransmitter
French épinéphrine
- épinéphrinehormone and neurotransmitter
German Epinephrin
- Epinephrinhormone and neurotransmitter
Greek επινεφρίνη
- επινεφρίνη (epinefríni)hormone and neurotransmitter
Hungarian epinefrin
- epinefrinhormone and neurotransmitter
Indonesian epinefrin
- epinefrinhormone and neurotransmitter
Italian epinefrina
- epinefrinahormone and neurotransmitter
Japanese エピネフリン
- エピネフリン (epinefurin)hormone and neurotransmitter
Korean 에피네프린
- 에피네프린 (epinepeurin)hormone and neurotransmitter
Polish epinefryna
- epinefrynahormone and neurotransmitter
Portuguese epinefrina
- epinefrinahormone and neurotransmitter
Russian эпинефри́н, адренали́н
- эпинефри́н (epinefrín)hormone and neurotransmitter
- адренали́н (adrenalín)hormone and neurotransmitter
Spanish epinefrina
- epinefrinahormone and neurotransmitter
Swedish adrenalin
- adrenalinhormone and neurotransmitter
Turkish adrenalin, epinefrin
- adrenalinhormone and neurotransmitter
- epinefrinhormone and neurotransmitter
Ukrainian епінефри́н
- епінефри́н (epinefrýn)hormone and neurotransmitter
Cite this entry
epinephrine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epinephrine
“epinephrine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epinephrine. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “epinephrine,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epinephrine.
Source: epinephrine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.