diethylstilbestrol
noun
called also DES, stilbestrol
Note: The medical use of diethystilbestrol was discontinued in the U.S. during the early 1970s due to its association with serious side effects (such as reproductive tract abnormalities and increased rates of infertility) in offspring exposed to the drug while developing in the uterus. Diethylstilbestrol is no longer commercially available in the U.S. and its use is currently limited to specially compounded formulations for veterinary care.
Examples of diethylstilbestrol in a Sentence
Penelope Green, New York Times, 4 May 2025
In the 1950s, for example, Iowa State University researcher Wise Burroughs helped develop and patented a feed additive called diethylstilbestrol, a synthetic form of estrogen that led cows to gain weight 12 percent faster while eating 8-10 percent less feed.
—Grace Van Deelen, Vox, 11 July 2024
Epidemiologists were learning, for instance, that exposure to certain estrogen-like chemicals, such as diethylstilbestrol (DES), increases the risk of vaginal, cervical, and breast cancer.
—Siddhartha Mukherjee, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023
Cohn said in an interview that her group decided to investigate the long-term effects of Makena because of its similarity to another synthetic hormone called diethylstilbestrol, or DES.
—Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2022
Women who took the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES): The drug was given to some pregnant women between 1940 and 1971 to prevent miscarriage.
—Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 4 Nov. 2019
The drug, a synthetic estrogen known as diethylstilbestrol (DES), was designed to prevent pregnancy complications like miscarriage and preterm delivery.
—Fox News, 23 May 2018
Cite this Entry
“Diethylstilbestrol.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diethylstilbestrol. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
diethylstilbestrol
noun
-ˌtrōl
called also DES, stilbestrol
Note: The medical use of diethystilbestrol was discontinued in the U.S. during the early 1970s due to its association with serious side effects (such as reproductive tract abnormalities and increased rates of infertility) in offspring exposed to the drug while developing in the uterus. Additional side effects of exposure include increased risk of adenocarcinoma of the vagina and cervix and pregnancy complications in female offspring and prostate and testicular cancer in male offspring. Diethylstilbestrol is no longer commercially available in the U.S. and its use is currently limited to specially compounded formulations for veterinary care.
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