Standard Lemma guide

phenobarbital

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

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌfiː.nə(ʊ)ˈbɑː.bɪt.əl/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌfɛn.ə(ʊ)ˈbɑː.bɪt.əl/
  • General-American: /ˌfiː.noʊˈbɑɹ.bəˌtɔl/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A narcotic and sedative barbiturate drug used chiefly to treat epilepsy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: medicine, pharmacology, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a long-acting barbiturate used as a sedative

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sodium thiopental, phenobarbitone, Luminal, purple heart

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: barbiturate

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bheh2-der. Proto-Hellenic *pháňňō Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō)der. ▲ Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō)der. French phéno- Proto-Indo-European *swel-der.? Ancient Greek ῡ̔́λη (hū́lē)der. French -yle French phénylebor. English phenyl Ancient Greek -ο- (-o-)der. Latin -o-bor. English -o- English pheno- English barbital English phenobarbital From pheno- + barbital.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: fenobarbitaali — barbiturate sedative
  • German: Phenobarbital — barbiturate sedative
  • Portuguese: fenobarbital — barbiturate sedative
  • Spanish: fenobarbital — barbiturate sedative
  • Turkish: fenobarbital — barbiturate sedative