Meaning of thalidomide | Babel Free
/θəˈlɪdəˌmaɪd/Definitions
A drug sold during the late 1950s and early 1960s as a sleeping aid, and to pregnant women as an antiemetic to combat morning sickness and other symptoms, but withdrawn as causing severe birth defects, such as phocomelia; currently used to treat leprosy.
countable, uncountable
Equivalents
Examples
“I have tried all the medium and short acting non-barbiturate sedatives since the war (including thalidomide) but they don’t work and I don’t trust the newfangled long acting, “safe” analgesics.”
“I can't stand to see your thalidomide robot face”
CEFR level
C1
Advanced
This word is part of the CEFR C1 vocabulary — advanced level.
This word is part of the CEFR C1 vocabulary — advanced level.