Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
chloral

chloral

1 8.7
A chemical used to make medicines that help people sleep
  • noun
  • /ˈklɔrəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cloral
  • Without my chloral I never sleep.

Examples

  • Rat attaches a pressure valve to a small stainless steel cylinder, labeled: "GAS AGENT: SODIUM CHLORAL-HYDRATE."

    Fiction book (1996)

  • He carefully measured the chloral to ensure the correct dosage for the treatment.

  • Hank shakes four red capsules of chloral.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • In the more severe cases, with the very rapid heartbeat, the stomach pump must be used, and drugs may be used that depress and diminish the irritability of the heart, such as chloral and chloroform.

    Blog text (19)

  • The doctor prescribed chloral hydrate as a sedative for her anxiety.

  • In the more severe cases, with the very rapid heartbeat, the stomach pump must be used, and drugs may be used that depress and diminish the irritability of the heart, such as chloral and chloroform.

Compounds

chloral hydrate
  • Specialized
1 9.5

Medicine that makes you sleep but can upset the stomach and make you dependent

Surface Forms

chloral singular
chlorals plural

Morphology

chloral = chlor + al

The word contains the chemical combining form chlor- and the ending -al, but the resulting technical meaning is not transparent to a general learner.

Etymology

Chloral comes from the Greek root chlor- from chloros meaning 'green', the same root you see in chlorine, plus the chemical ending -al that marks a certain kind of chemical. So the name shows it is a chlorine-containing 'aldehyde' used in sedatives like chloral hydrate.