Meanings
plural phencyclidines
- countableuncountablemedicineA synthetic compound derived from piperidine, used as a veterinary anesthetic and in hallucinogenic drugs such as angel dust.
1-(1-phenylcyclohexyl)piperidine, often shortened to phencyclidine or PCP. Piperidine's use as a precursor in making PCP accounts for the fact that it is a controlled substance.
2014, Theodore Gray, photography by Nick Mann, Molecules: The Elements and the Architecture of Everything, 2018 Paperback Edition, page 147Synonyms: PCP, angel dust, angel dust, crystal, fairy dust, ill, hog, horse tranquilizer
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA synthetic compound derived from piperidine, used as a veterinary anesthetic and in hallucinogenic drugs such as angel dust.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna drug used as an anesthetic by veterinarians; illicitly taken (originally in the form of powder or ‘dust’) for its effects as a hallucinogen
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Contraction of phenylcyclohexylpiperidine.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish fensyklidiini
- fensyklidiiniveterinary anesthetic, used illegally in humans as a hallucinogen
German Phencyclidin
- Phencyclidinveterinary anesthetic, used illegally in humans as a hallucinogen
Hungarian fenciklidin
- fenciklidinveterinary anesthetic, used illegally in humans as a hallucinogen
Russian фенциклиди́н
- фенциклиди́н (fenciklidín)veterinary anesthetic, used illegally in humans as a hallucinogen
Cite this entry
phencyclidine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phencyclidine
“phencyclidine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phencyclidine. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “phencyclidine,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phencyclidine.
Source: phencyclidine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.