noun · 3 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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/vəˈnɪlɪn/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:V AH0 N IH1 L IH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A chemical compound, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde, that is the primary constituent of vanilla.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A synthetic compound used as a substitute for the extract of the vanilla bean.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a crystalline compound found in vanilla beans and some balsam resins; used in perfumes and flavorings
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: compound, chemical compound
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Spanish vainillabor. English vanilla English -in English vanillin From vanilla + -in.
Across languages
Translations
17 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
فَانِيلِين
(fānīlīn)
— primary constituent of vanilla
Arabic:
وَنِيلِّين
(wanīllīn)
— primary constituent of vanilla
Arabic:
نِيلِين
(nīlīn)
— primary constituent of vanilla
Catalan:
vanil·lina
— primary constituent of vanilla
Chinese Mandarin:
香草醛
(xiāngcǎoquán)
— primary constituent of vanilla
Chinese Mandarin:
香蘭素 /香兰素
(xiānglánsù)
— primary constituent of vanilla
Czech:
vanilin
— primary constituent of vanilla
Finnish:
vanilliini
— primary constituent of vanilla
French:
vanilline
— primary constituent of vanilla
German:
Vanillin
— primary constituent of vanilla
Greek:
βανιλίνη
(vanilíni)
— primary constituent of vanilla
Japanese:
バニリン
(banirin)
— primary constituent of vanilla
Korean:
바닐린
(banillin)
— primary constituent of vanilla
Malay:
vanilin
— primary constituent of vanilla
Russian:
ванили́н
(vanilín)
— primary constituent of vanilla
Spanish:
vainillina
— primary constituent of vanilla
Swedish:
vanillin
— primary constituent of vanilla