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Glite Dictionary
ethinylestradiol

ethinylestradiol

7.4
A man-made female hormone used in birth control pills and some menopause treatments
  • noun
  • /ˌɛθɪnɪlɛˈstrædiˌɔl/
  • Specialized
: etinilestradiol
  • This guaranteed that each participant was suitable to use a combined monophasic OCP that contained 30 µg of ethinylestradiol and 3 mg of drospirenone.

Examples

  • The efficacy of Zoely is comparable to that of Yasmin (drospirenone and ethinylestradiol).

    Academic text (2014)

  • Ethinylestradiol is commonly found in various oral contraceptive pills used for birth control.

  • Many hormone replacement therapies include ethinylestradiol to help manage menopausal symptoms.

  • Doctors often prescribe ethinylestradiol to regulate menstrual cycles in women.

Surface Forms

ethinylestradiol singular
ethinylestradiols plural

Morphology

ethinylestradiol = estradiol (opaque) = ethinyl + estradiol

This is a technical chemical name formed by attaching an ethinyl substituent to estradiol; the formation is not guessable by average learners.

Etymology

Ethinylestradiol combines ethinyl, a small chemical 'tag', and estradiol, a natural female 'hormone' related to 'estrogen'. So ethinylestradiol is a 'tagged' form of estradiol made to work well in birth control pills and hormone therapy.