Standard Lemma guide

diazepam

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /dʌɪˈaz.ɪ.pam/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /dʌɪˈeɪ.zɪ.pam/
  • General-American: /daɪˈæz.əˌpæm/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A tranquilizing muscle relaxant drug (trademark Valium) used mainly to relieve anxiety.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: medicine, pharmacology, sciences

Examples

  • 2001: The most effective anti-anxiety drugs (tranquillizers) are the benzodiazepines, epitomized by diazepam (Valium®). — Leslie Iversen, Drugs: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford 2001, p. 57)

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a tranquilizer (trade name Valium) used to relieve anxiety and relax muscles; acts by enhancing the inhibitory actions of the neurotransmitter GABA; can also be used as an anticonvulsant drug in cases of nerve agent poisoning

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Valium

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: benzodiazepine

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Arabic لُبَان (lubān) Proto-Indo-European *yew- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *yéwos Proto-Indo-Iranian *yáwas Sanskrit यव (yava)bor.? Proto-Austronesian *zawa Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *zawader.? Old Javanese jawa Old Javanese -i Old Javanese Jawi Javanese ꦗꦮꦶ (jawi)der. Arabic جَاوَة (jāwa) Proto-Afroasiatic Proto-Semitic Arabic ـِيّ (-iyy) Arabic جَاوِيّ (jāwiyy) Arabic لُبَان جَاوِيّ (lubān jāwiyy)bor. Catalan benjuíder. Middle French benjoinder. English benzoin English benzo- Proto-Indo-European *dwóh1 Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Hellenic *dwi- Ancient Greek δῐ- (dĭ-)bor. Latin di-bor. English di- Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Hellenic *ə- Ancient Greek ᾰ̓- (ă-) Proto-Indo-European *gweyh3- Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *gwih3wós Proto-Indo-European *gwíh3weti Proto-Hellenic *gwyṓw-ō Proto-Hellenic *ďṓwō Ancient Greek ζώω (zṓō) Ancient Greek ζῶ (zô) Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Ancient Greek -ᾱ (-ā) Ancient Greek -η (-ē) Ancient Greek ζωή (zōḗ) French azotebor. English azote English az- Proto-Afroasiatic *sṗɣ? Proto-Semitic *šabʕ-bor.? Proto-Indo-European *septḿ̥ Proto-Hellenic *heptə́ Ancient Greek ἑπτᾰ́ (heptắ)der. French hepta- Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Italic *-īnos Latin -īnus French -in Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-eh2 Proto-Italic *-ā Latin -am Old French -e French -e French -ine English -epine English azepine English diazepine English (benzo)diazep(ine) Egyptian jmnbor. Ancient Greek Ᾰ̓́μμων (Ắmmōn)bor. Latin Ammōn Latin ammoniacusder. English ammonia Proto-Indo-European *dheh1-der. Proto-Italic *-iðos Latin -idusder. English -ide English am(ide) English diazepam From (benzo)diazep(ine) + am(ide).

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 地西泮 (dìxīpàn) — minor tranquillizer
  • Dutch: diazepam — minor tranquillizer
  • Finnish: diatsepaami — minor tranquillizer
  • French: diazépam — minor tranquillizer
  • German: Diazepam — minor tranquillizer
  • Greek: διαζεπάμη (diazepámi) — minor tranquillizer
  • Hungarian: diazepám — minor tranquillizer
  • Japanese: ジアゼパム (jiazepamu) — minor tranquillizer
  • Kazakh: диазепам (diazepam) — minor tranquillizer
  • Persian: دیازپام — minor tranquillizer
  • Polish: diazepam — minor tranquillizer
  • Polish: relanium — minor tranquillizer
  • Portuguese: diazepam — minor tranquillizer
  • Russian: диазепа́м (diazepám) — minor tranquillizer
  • Russian: сибазо́н (sibazón) — minor tranquillizer
  • Russian: рела́ниум (relánium) — minor tranquillizer
  • Russian: седуксе́н (seduksén) — minor tranquillizer
  • Spanish: diazepam — minor tranquillizer
  • Thai: ไดแอซิแพม — minor tranquillizer
  • Turkish: diazepam — minor tranquillizer