Cinnabar

//ˈsɪn.əˌbɑɹ// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A deep red mineral, mercuric sulfide, HgS; the principal ore of mercury; such ore used as the pigment vermilion. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    large red-and-black European moth; larvae feed on leaves of ragwort; introduced into United States to control ragwort wordnet
  3. 3
    A bright red colour tinted with orange. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    a heavy reddish mineral consisting of mercuric sulfide; the chief source of mercury wordnet
  5. 5
    A species of erebid moth, Tyria jacobaeae, having red patches on its predominantly black wings. countable

    "There are a few day-flying exceptions such as hummingbird hawk-moths, silver Ys, cinnabars, scarlet tigers and burnets but, in general, knowledge of moths lags behind that of butterflies."

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    Synonym of dragon's blood (“type of resin”). countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    The Elixir of Life. countable, uncountable
Adjective
  1. 1
    Of a bright red colour tinted with orange.
Adjective
  1. 1
    of a vivid red to reddish-orange color wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
cinnabar mothcallimorpha jacobeaechinese-redcinnabar mothcinnabaritecolor

Example

More examples

"Vermilion is made from cinnabar, which is toxic."

Etymology

First attested in the mid-15th century. From Middle English cynabare, from Old French cinabre, from Latin cinnabaris, from Ancient Greek κιννάβαρι (kinnábari), of unknown origin.

Related phrases

cinnabar boobookcinnabar mothgreen cinnabarhepatic cinnabarinflammable cinnabarelixir of lifemercuric sulfidemercury poisoning

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