Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of a group of barbituric acid derivatives that act as central nervous system depressants and are used as sedatives or hypnotics.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun organic chemistry Any
salt orester ofbarbituric acid . - noun pharmacology Any of
derivatives ofbarbituric acid that act asdepressants of thecentral nervous system and are used assedatives orhypnotics .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun organic compound having powerful soporific effect; overdose can be fatal
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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JONATHAN ARDEN, MEDICAL EXAMINER, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: The sequence of medications you described, first, is thiopental or sodium pentothal, which is an ultra-short-acting barbiturate which is supposed to sedate you, anesthetize you, knock you out.
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An anesthesiologist who testified in Bonnyman's court told Nashville Scene about what autopsies found in three inmates who did not receive enough of one of the execution drugs, sodium thiopental, a barbiturate that causes loss of consciousness.
Tenn. judge rules new execution procedure constitutional 2011
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Never a man skilled at self-preservation, Birkeland began to drink too much whiskey, take large doses of Veronal (a highly addictive and damaging barbiturate prescribed for insomnia) and slide into a twilight of excessive work, paranoia and illnesswith no one to stop him.
A Conversation with Lucy Jago, author of The Northern Lights 2010
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So why the fascination with a life that, for all the diversions through tinsel town, stretched from miserable foster homes to barbiturate overdose?
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The doctors who signed the open letter, led by David Nicholl, a neurologist at City Hospital in Birmingham, want to see Hospira following the example of Lundbeck, the Danish manufacturer of a barbiturate called pentobarbital that has been also used in US executions.
US pharmaceutical firm Hospira under fire over use of its drugs in executions 2012
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Garland was suicidal on several occasions, but the cause of her death was a legal barbiturate overdose.
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Pentobarbital is a barbiturate sold under the name Nembutal that Lundbeck markets as an epilepsy treatment.
Lundbeck Seeks to Curb Use of Drug in Executions Jeanne Whalen 2011
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A year ago it suspended all production in America of sodium thiopental, a barbiturate widely used as the first stage of the lethal cocktail, after it became clear that it could face penalties in Italy, where it was also manufacturing the sedative.
US pharmaceutical firm Hospira under fire over use of its drugs in executions 2012
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The drug at issue is thiopental sodium, a barbiturate used by states to render death-row inmates unconscious before other lethal drugs are used to complete an execution.
Suit Targets Execution Drug Nathan Koppel 2010
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First, a barbiturate is used to put prisoners to sleep; then, the muscle relaxant is given to stop them moving or screaming; finally, a third chemical, potassium, is injected to stop their heart.
US pharmaceutical firm Hospira under fire over use of its drugs in executions 2012
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