Adjacent Words

chloroform definitions

	Tweet

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a volatile liquid haloform (CHCl3); formerly used as an anesthetic; "chloroform was the first inhalation anesthetic" [syn: chloroform, trichloromethane] v
1: anesthetize with chloroform; "Doctors used to put people under by chloroforming them"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: French chloroforme, from chlor- + formyle formyl; from its having been regarded as a trichloride of this group Date: 1838 a colorless volatile heavy toxic liquid CHCl₃ with an ether odor used especially as a solvent II. transitive verb Date: 1848 to treat with or as if with chloroform especially so as to produce anesthesia, insensibility, or death

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. a colourless volatile sweet-smelling liquid used as a solvent and formerly used as a general anaesthetic. Usage: Chem. formula: CHCl3. --v.tr. render (a person) unconscious with this. Etymology: F chloroforme formed as CHLORO- + formyle: see FORMIC (ACID)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Chloroform Chlo"ro*form, n. [Chlorine + formyl, it having been regarded as a trichloride of this radical: cf. F. chloroforme, G. chloroform.] (Chem.) A colorless volatile liquid, CHCl3, having an ethereal odor and a sweetish taste, formed by treating alcohol with chlorine and an alkali. It is a powerful solvent of wax, resin, etc., and is extensively used to produce an[ae]sthesia in surgical operations; also externally, to alleviate pain.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Chloroform Chlo"ro*form, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Chloroformed; p. pr. & vb. n. Chloroforming.] To treat with chloroform, or to place under its influence.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Chloroform is a colourless liquid with a strong sweet smell, which makes you unconscious if you breathe its vapour.

Moby Thesaurus

KO, Pentothal, anesthetize, annihilate, bedaze, benumb, bereave of life, besot, blunt, carry away, carry off, cocaine, coldcock, cut down, cut off, deaden, deprive of life, desensitize, destroy, dispatch, dispose of, do away with, do for, do to death, dope, drug, dull, end, ether, etherize, ethyl chloride, ethylene, execute, exterminate, finish, finish off, freeze, gas, immolate, kayo, kill, knock out, knock senseless, knock stiff, knock unconscious, launch into eternity, lay out, liquidate, lynch, make away with, martyr, martyrize, menthol, narcotize, nitrous oxide, numb, obtund, palsy, paralyze, poison, purge, put away, put down, put to death, put to sleep, remove from life, sacrifice, slay, starve, stun, stupefy, take life, take off