thalidomide

noun tha·lid·o·mide \ thə-ˈli-də-ˌmīd , -məd \

|Updated on: 9 Jun 2018

Definition of thalidomide

: a drug C₁₃H₁₀N₂O₄ that was formerly used as a sedative and is now used as an immunomodulatory agent especially in the treatment of leprosy and multiple myeloma and that is known to cause malformations of infants born to mothers using it during pregnancy

Recent Examples of thalidomide from the Web

Even a single dose of thalidomide, the active ingredient in Thalomid, can cause irreversible, debilitating birth defects if not properly handled and dispensed.

— sydney lupkin — kaiser health news, STAT, "Drug makers blamed for blocking generics have jacked up prices and cost U.S. billions," 23 May 2018
An example of this is thalidomide, a sedative prescribed in the 1960s for morning sickness; later, it was found to cause birth defects.

— susan scutti, CNN, "Study links acetaminophen in pregnancy to ADHD, but experts question results," 30 Oct. 2017
As mothers in other countries would learn, the drug—better known by its generic name, thalidomide—could cause horrible birth defects.

— jonathan kay, The Atlantic, "How Do You Regulate a Self-Improving Algorithm?," 25 Oct. 2017
For example, thalidomide was a medication that seemed to have low levels of risk to adults during testing and was used for morning sickness.

— yvette d'entremont, SELF, "Don’t Buy Into Toxic 'Toxin-Free' Marketing," 13 Oct. 2017
But the time, thalidomide’s darker effects were just becoming known.

— leila mcneill, Smithsonian, "The Woman Who Stood Between America and an Epidemic of Birth Defects," 8 May 2017
The settlement is the most recent chapter in the story of thalidomide, the notorious drug that was developed by a German company and marketed around the world in the 1950s as a sedative and anti-nausea treatment.

— katie thomas, New York Times, "Celgene to Pay $280 Million to Settle Fraud Suit Over Cancer Drugs," 25 July 2017
But Kelsey’s body of work goes well beyond thalidomide.

— nancy kriplen, Discover Magazine, "The Heroine of the FDA," 6 Feb. 2017
Because Congress was in a rush to respond to the thalidomide tragedy in the early 1960s, when the babies of some women who took the morning-sickness drug were left with permanent birth defects.

— juliet eilperin, chicagotribune.com, "Illogical forces driving a dysfunctional health-care system," 24 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'thalidomide.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of thalidomide

phthalic acid + -id- (from imide) + -o- + imide

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1958

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Medical Dictionary

thalidomide

noun tha·lid·o·mide \ thə-ˈlid-ə-ˌmīd , -məd \

medical Definition of thalidomide

: a sedative, hypnotic, and antiemetic drug C₁₃H₁₀N₂O₄ that was formerly used chiefly in Europe during the late 1950s and early 1960s especially to treat morning sickness but was soon withdrawn after being shown to cause serious malformations (as missing or severely shortened arms and legs) in infants born to mothers using it during the first trimester of pregnancy and that is now used as an immunomodulatory agent chiefly in the treatment of cutaneous complications of leprosy and in combination with dexamethasone in the treatment of multiple myeloma