Standard Lemma guide

nitroglycerine

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.

  • CMU ARPABET: N AY2 T R OW0 G L IH1 S ER0 AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: N AY2 T R AH0 G L IH1 S ER0 AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 3: N AY2 CH R AH0 G L IH1 S ER0 AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate or 1,2,3 tri-nitrooxy propane; the ester of glycerol with nitric acid; prepared by the careful addition of a mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids to glycerol with constant stirring and cooling; it is a thick, pale yellow liquid, that is highly explosive on concussion or on exposure to sudden heat; it is used in medicine as a vasodilator, and as an explosive in the form of dynamite which is safe to handle.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, organic-chemistry, physical-sciences

Examples

  • Holonym: dynamite

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: GTN, NG, glycerine trinitrate, glycerol trinitrate, glyceryl trinitrate, trinitroglycerin, TNG, nitroleum

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: explosive

2

noun

Meaning 2

a heavy yellow poisonous oily explosive liquid obtained by nitrating glycerol; used in making explosives and medically as a vasodilator (trade names Nitrospan and Nitrostat)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nitroglycerin, trinitroglycerin, glyceryl trinitrate, Nitrospan, Nitrostat

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: vasodilator, vasodilative, nitrate

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Egyptian nṯr Proto-Afroasiatic *-i? Egyptian -j Egyptian nṯrjder. Semiticbor. Ancient Greek νῐ́τρον (nĭ́tron) English nitro- Ancient Greek γλῠκερός (glŭkerós) 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 French glycérine English glycerine English nitroglycerine From nitro- + glycerine.

Across languages

Translations

23 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Basque: nitroglizerina — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Catalan: nitroglicerina — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Chinese Mandarin: 硝化甘油 (xiāohuàgānyóu) — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Czech: nitroglycerin — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Finnish: nitroglyseriini — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • French: nitroglycérine — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • German: Nitroglyzerin — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Greek: νιτρογλυκερίνη (nitroglykeríni) — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Hungarian: nitroglicerin — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Irish: nítriglicrín — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Italian: nitroglicerina — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Japanese: ニトログリセリン (nitoroguriserin) — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Norwegian Bokmål: nitroglyserol — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Norwegian Bokmål: nitroglyserin — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nitroglyserol — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nitroglyserin — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Polish: nitrogliceryna — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Portuguese: nitroglicerina — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Russian: нитроглицери́н (nitroglicerín) — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Spanish: nitroglicerina — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Tagalog: nitrogliserina — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Turkish: nitrogliserin — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate
  • Vietnamese: nitroglyxerin — the compound glyceryl-tri-nitrate