Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A poisonous, bitter, crystalline alkaloid, C17H23NO3, obtained from belladonna and other related plants. It is used to dilate the pupils of the eyes and as an antispasmodic.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun See atropin.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Chem.) A poisonous, white, crystallizable alkaloid, extracted from the Atropa belladonna, or deadly nightshade, and the Datura Stramonium, or thorn apple. It is remarkable for its power in dilating the pupil of the eye. Called also daturine.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun toxicology, pharmacology An alkaloid extracted from the plant deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) and other sources. Though overdoses would be fatal it is used as a drug in medicine for its paralytic effects (e.g. in surgery to relax muscles, in dentistry to dry the mouth, in ophthalmology to dilate the pupils).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a poisonous crystalline alkaloid extracted from the nightshade family; used as an antispasmodic and to dilate the eye pupil; also administered in large amounts as an antidote for organophosphate nerve agents or organophosphate insecticides

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From New Latin Atropa, genus name of belladonna, from Greek Atropos, Atropos; see Atropos.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Atropa ("genus of deadly nightshade") +‎ -ine

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Examples

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  • also daturine

    August 1, 2007

  • "There were shortages of aspirin, atropine, digitalis, glacial acetic acid (a disinfectant), paper bags, sputum cups, and thermometers..."

    —John M. Barry, The Great Influenza (NY: Penguin Books, 2004), 215

    February 16, 2009

  • Another usage on aconite.

    July 7, 2009