thalidomide

noun

tha·​lid·​o·​mide thə-ˈli-də-ˌmīd  -məd 

: 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

Examples of thalidomide in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When one such drug, thalidomide, turned out to cause birth defects in the children born to parents who’d taken it, however, the scandal caused a chilling effect on the study of pregnancy nausea. —Julia Longoria, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018

At the top of the list was one with a devastating history: thalidomide. —David Armstrong, CNN Money, 10 May 2025

Celgene was newly flush with cash from rising sales of thalidomide. —David Armstrong, CNN Money, 10 May 2025

Just consider disasters like leaded gasoline, CFCs, and thalidomide. —John Werner, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for thalidomide

• acetamide
• acetonide
• acidified
• antimonide
• beatified
• benzaldehyde
• borohydride
• chalcogenide
• commodified
• decalcified
• declassified
• disaccharide

Medical Definition

thalidomide

noun

tha·​lid·​o·​mide thə-ˈlid-ə-ˌmīd  -məd 

: 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formerly used chiefly in Europe during the late 1950s and early 1960s especially to treat morning sickness but was soon withdrawn after being shown to cause serious malformations (as missing or severely shortened arms and legs) in infants born to mothers using it during the first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