adj, noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An organic compound, C₈H₇N, found in coal tar, and produced in the gut by the bacterial decomposition of tryptophan; it is an aromatic bicyclic heterocycle having a benzene ring fused with a pyrrole ring; indole and its derivatives occur widely in nature and have many industrial applications.

   "The Aspidosperma alkaloids are the largest group of indole alkaloids."

2. 2
   a white or yellowish crystalline heterocyclic compound extracted from coal tar and used in perfumery, medicine, and as a flavouring agent. wordnet
3. 3
   Any of the derivatives of indole.

Adjective

1. 1
   guileless obsolete

Synonyms

All synonyms

ketoleketole

Example

More examples

"The Aspidosperma alkaloids are the largest group of indole alkaloids."

Etymology

From indigo + Latin oleum (“oil”); see -ole.

Related phrases

Fischer indole synthesisindole alkaloidindoleacetic acidindolebutyric acidbenzene ringcoal tar

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