BELLADONNA

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

I. (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An alkaloidal extract or tincture of the poisonous belladonna plant that is used medicinally

Classified under:

Hypernyms ("belladonna" is a kind of...):

atropine (a poisonous crystalline alkaloid extracted from the nightshade family; used as an antispasmodic and to dilate the eye pupil; also administered in large amounts as an antidote for organophosphate nerve agents or organophosphate insecticides)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Perennial Eurasian herb with reddish bell-shaped flowers and shining black berries; extensively grown in United States; roots and leaves yield atropine

Synonyms:

Atropa belladonna; belladonna; belladonna plant; deadly nightshade

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("belladonna" is a kind of...):

herb; herbaceous plant (a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests)

Holonyms ("belladonna" is a member of...):

Atropa; genus Atropa (belladonna)

Credits

Context examples:

He smiled then, and was kinder, but it was very sad, and I cried with them till he turned round all of a sudden, and told me to go home and take belladonna right away, or I'd have the fever.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The belladonna alkaloids produce an anticholinergic effect by the competitive inhibition of acetylcholine at the parasympathetic neuro-effector junction, and the barbiturates produce a sedative effect probably as a result of their inhibition of synaptic neurotransmitters in the central nervous system (CNS).