Standard Lemma guide

endorphin

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.

  • UK: /ɛnˈdɔːfɪn/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /ɛnˈdɔ(ɹ)fɪn/
  • rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)fɪn
  • CMU ARPABET: EH0 N D AO1 R F IH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of a group of peptide hormones found in the mammalian brain that act as neurotransmitters and have properties similar to morphine.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biochemistry, biology, chemistry, microbiology, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a neurochemical occurring naturally in the brain and having analgesic properties

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: peptide, neurochemical

Narrower terms: beta endorphin, enkephalin

History

Etymology

Borrowed from French endorphine, from endo(gène) (“endogenous, produced within”) and morphine.

Across languages

Translations

23 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: إِنْدُورْفِين (ʔindūrfīn) — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Catalan: endorfina — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Chinese Mandarin: 腦內啡 /脑内啡 (nǎonèifēi) — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Chinese Mandarin: 安多芬 (ānduōfēn) — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Chinese Mandarin: 內啡呔 /内啡呔 (nèifēidāi) — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Czech: endorfin — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Finnish: endorfiini — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • French: endorphine — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • German: Endorphin — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Greek: ενδορφίνη (endorfíni) — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Hungarian: endorfin — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Indonesian: endorfin — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Italian: endorfina — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Japanese: エンドルフィン (endorufin) — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Māori: taiaki whakahari — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Polish: endorfina — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Portuguese: endorfina — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Russian: эндорфи́н (endorfín) — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Sicilian: nnurfina — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Spanish: endorfina — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Swedish: endorfin — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Turkish: endorfin — any of a group of peptide hormones
  • Vietnamese: endorphin — any of a group of peptide hormones