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sulfanilamide
noun
sul·fa·nil·amide
ˌsəl-fə-ˈni-lə-ˌmīd
-məd
: a crystalline sulfonamide C6H8N2O2S that is the parent compound of most of the sulfa drugs
Examples of sulfanilamide in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The only problem: The new formulation of the drug, called sulfanilamide, used diethylene glycol, which is essentially poison.
—Meg Tirrell, CNN, 26 Mar. 2024
In 1937, an untested and poisonous liquid version of sulfanilamide, meant to treat bacterial infections, killed more than 100 people across 15 states.
—Ian Prasad Philbrick, BostonGlobe.com, 26 Aug. 2023
After elixir of sulfanilamide, a drug used to treat streptococcal infections, killed 107 people in 1937, Congress created the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
—Jen Christensen, CNN, 14 Apr. 2023
The experience of children who were born with severe disabilities from thalidomide in the 1950s and ’60s, like that of the victims of sulfanilamide poisoning in the ’30s, prompted significant strengthening of government oversight.
—Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic, 13 July 2021
Geiling and his lab of graduate students, including Kelsey, set out to determine what exactly in the elixir was killing people: the solvent, the flavor or the sulfanilamide.
—Leila McNeill, Smithsonian, 8 May 2017
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Word History
Etymology
sulfanilic acid (C6H7NO3S, from International Scientific Vocabulary sulf- + aniline + -ic) + amide
First Known Use
1937, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near sulfanilamide
Cite this Entry
“Sulfanilamide.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sulfanilamide. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
sulfanilamide
noun
sul·fa·nil·amide
ˌsəl-fə-ˈnil-ə-ˌmīd
-məd
: a compound in the form of crystals that is the parent compound of most of the sulfa drugs
Medical Definition
sulfanilamide
noun
sul·fa·nil·amide
variants
or chiefly British sulphanilamide
: a crystalline sulfonamide C6H8N2O3S that is the amide of sulfanilic acid and the parent compound of most of the sulfa drugs
More from Merriam-Webster on sulfanilamide
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about sulfanilamide
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