That feeling is caused by the capsaicin molecules in the peppers activating the capsaicin receptors on our tongue—the more capsaicin, the hotter the pepper.
Source: tatoeba (11719832)
Capsaicin
/kæpˈseɪəsən/
Synonyms for "capsaicin" (9 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (2)
Noun(2 words)
active pharmaceutical ingredientanalgesic ingredient
Strong matches (3)
Noun(3 words)
Related words (4)
Noun(4 words)
heat producing compoundhot compoundpungency factorpungent component
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
5 entrieschemical compoundchemical irritantdrug ingredientflavor componentpharmaceutical ingredient
More specific
10 entriescapsaicin creamcapsaicin extractcapsaicin gelcapsaicin heatcapsaicin ointmentcapsaicin patchcapsaicin powderheat intensityisolated capsaicinpungency level
Collocations
6 entriesTRPV1 receptorcapsaicin contentcapsaicin creamcapsaicin extractcapsaicin powdercapsaicin receptor
Inflections
1 entriesSample sentences
1 total sentences available.