Diethylstilbestrol

//daɪˌɛθ.əl.stɪlˈbɛˌstɹɔl// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A synthetic estrogen drug C₁₈H₂₀O₂ used formerly to prevent miscarriage or premature delivery in humans and to promote growth in livestock. The medical use of diethystilbestrol was discontinued in the U.S. during the early 1970s due to its association with serious side effects (such as reproductive tract abnormalities and increased rates of infertility) in offspring exposed to the drug while developing in the uterus. It is no longer commercially available in the U.S. and its use is currently limited to specially compounded formulations for veterinary care. countable, uncountable

    "In 1971, yet another such study identified an even more unusual carcinogen, a synthetic hormonal medicine called diethylstilbestrol."

  2. 2
    a potent estrogen used in medicine and in feed for livestock and poultry wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
stilbestroldesdesdiethylstilboestrolstilboestrol

Example

More examples

"In 1971, yet another such study identified an even more unusual carcinogen, a synthetic hormonal medicine called diethylstilbestrol."

Etymology

From diethyl + stilb(ene) + -estr- (“estrogen”) + -ol.

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