What does "chloramphenicol" mean?

A broad-spectrum antibiotic C₁₁H₁₂Cl₂N₂O₅ isolated from cultures of a soil actinomycete (Streptomyces venezuelae) or prepared synthetically and used against serious infections such as typhoid fever.

What is a synonym for "chloramphenicol"?

Common synonyms include: chloromycetin, phenicol.

How do you pronounce "chloramphenicol"?

Pronounced //ˌklɔː.ɹamˈfɛ.nɪ.kɒl//.

Chloramphenicol

//ˌklɔː.ɹamˈfɛ.nɪ.kɒl// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A broad-spectrum antibiotic C₁₁H₁₂Cl₂N₂O₅ isolated from cultures of a soil actinomycete (Streptomyces venezuelae) or prepared synthetically and used against serious infections such as typhoid fever. countable, uncountable
2
an oral antibiotic (trade name Chloromycetin) used to treat serious infections (especially typhoid fever) wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

chloromycetin phenicol

Etymology

From chlor- + am(ide) + phen- + ni(tro)- + (gly)col.

Related phrases

streptomyces venezuelae

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.