adrenaline

noun

adren·​a·​line ə-ˈdre-nə-lən 

: epinephrine

Note: Adrenaline is used in both technical and nontechnical contexts. It is commonly used in describing the physiological symptoms (such as increased heart rate and respiration) that occur as part of the body's fight-or-flight response to stress, as when someone is in a dangerous, frightening, or highly competitive situation, as well as the feelings of heightened energy, excitement, strength, and alertness associated with those symptoms. In figurative use, it suggests a drug that provides something with a jolt of useful energy and stimulation.

He felt a rush of adrenaline as he parachuted from the airplane.

The fans were jubilant, raucous, their adrenaline running high.

—W. P. Kinsella

My reputation was as a single-day racer; show me the start line and I would win on adrenaline and anger, chopping off my competitors one by one.

—Lance Armstrong

London's summer antiques scene has been given a massive injection of adrenaline.

—Town and Country

Examples of adrenaline in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Any player who goes from a losing situation to the nightly atmosphere in Wrigleyville should feel a rush of adrenaline. —Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 10 July 2025

For Scott Jordan, the real adrenaline hits in the two minutes leading up to the Kentucky Derby. —Ray Padilla, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025

The trips, run among the pines and peaks of Wyoming, Utah, Oregon, and Colorado, fulfill participants’ adrenaline needs with adventures like rock climbing and whitewater rafting. —Stephanie Vermillion, Outside Online, 1 July 2025

Veteran screenwriter and the scribe behind the original Jurassic Park, David Koepp, is an expert at juggling dueling plot lines, and he’s brought back a lot of the monster-movie vibe that made the first movie such an old-school adrenaline rush. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

adrenal entry 2 + -ine entry 2

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for adrenaline

• adrenalin
• isoprenaline
• noradrenalin
• noradrenaline

Kids Definition

adrenaline

noun

adren·​a·​line ə-ˈdren-ᵊl-ən 

: epinephrine

Medical Definition

adrenaline

noun

adren·​a·​line ə-ˈdren-ᵊl-ən 

: epinephrine

—recognized by the British Pharmaceutical Codex as the preferred name for epinephrine in Great Britain