serotonin

S1E1R1O1T1O1N1I1N1
UK/ˌsɛɹəˈtəʊnɪn/US/ˌsɛɹəˈtoʊnɪn/

noun

An indoleamine neurotransmitter, 5-hydroxytryptamine, that is involved in depression, appetite, etc., and is crucial in maintaining a sense of well-being, security, etc.

Less commonScrabble 9

Meanings

nounserotonin (countable and uncountable, plural serotonins)

plural serotonins

  1. countableuncountablebiochemistryAn indoleamine neurotransmitter, 5-hydroxytryptamine, that is involved in depression, appetite, etc., and is crucial in maintaining a sense of well-being, security, etc.

    The class of antidepressants most commonly associated with sexual dysfunction is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, which treat depression by ultimately increasing levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain.

    2024 March 21, Kristen Rogers, “If antidepressants are killing your sex life, here’s what you can do”, in CNN
    1 more example

    Notably, mouse lines targeting genes codifying for serotonin receptors, for enzymes involved in 5-HT synthesis as Tph1 and Tph2, in its metabolism as monoaminoxidase A (MAOA) or in its re-uptake as serotonin transporter (SERT), have been generated.

    2015 August 21, “Generation of a Tph2 Conditional Knockout Mouse Line for Time- and Tissue-Specific Depletion of Brain Serotonin”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI

    Synonyms: 5-hydroxytryptamine

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn indoleamine neurotransmitter, 5-hydroxytryptamine, that is involved in depression, appetite, etc., and is crucial in maintaining a sense of well-being, security, etc.

More synonyms by meaning

nouna neurotransmitter involved in e.g. sleep and depression and memory

Broader
monoamine neurotransmitter

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ser-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sér-o-
  3. Proto-Italic*serom
  4. Latinserum
  5. Englishserum
  6. Englishsero-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*ten-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*tónos
  9. Proto-Hellenic*tónos
  10. Ancient Greekτόνος (tónos)
  11. Latintonus
  12. Middle Englishtone
  13. Englishtone
  14. Englishserotonin

From sero- + tone + -in.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic سِيرُوتُونِين
  • سِيرُوتُونِين (sīrūtūnīn)the compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Catalan serotonina
  • serotoninathe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Chinese Mandarin 血清素
  • 血清素 (xuèqīngsù)the compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Czech serotonin
  • serotoninthe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Danish serotonin
  • serotoninthe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Esperanto serotonino
  • serotoninothe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Finnish serotoniini
  • serotoniinithe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
French sérotonine
  • sérotoninethe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
German Serotonin
  • Serotoninthe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Greek σεροτονίνη
  • σεροτονίνη (serotoníni)the compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Hungarian szerotonin
  • szerotoninthe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Icelandic serótónín
  • serótónínthe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Indonesian serotonin
  • serotoninthe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Italian serotonina
  • serotoninathe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Japanese セロトニン
  • セロトニン (serotonin)the compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Korean 세로토닌
  • 세로토닌 (serotonin)the compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Latvian serotonīns
  • serotonīnsthe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Polish serotonina
  • serotoninathe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Portuguese serotonina
  • serotoninathe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Romanian serotonină
  • serotoninăthe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Russian серотони́н
  • серотони́н (serotonín)the compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Spanish serotonina
  • serotoninathe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Swahili serotonini
  • serotoninithe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Swedish serotonin
  • serotoninthe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Thai เซโรโทนิน, ซีโรโทนิน
  • เซโรโทนินthe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
  • ซีโรโทนินthe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Turkish serotonin
  • serotoninthe compound 5-hydroxytryptamine
Ukrainian серотоні́н
  • серотоні́н (serotonín)the compound 5-hydroxytryptamine

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

serotonin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/serotonin

MLA

“serotonin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/serotonin. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “serotonin,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/serotonin.

Source: serotonin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.