dexamethasone

See also: dexaméthasone

English

Molecular structure of dexamethasone

Etymology

From dex- +‎ -a- +‎ -methasone (“prednisone or prednisolone derivative”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌdɛk.səˈmɛθ.ə.səʊn/, /ˌdɛk.səˈmɛθ.ə.zəʊn/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌdɛk.səˈmɛθ.əˌsoʊn/, /ˌdɛk.səˈmɛθ.əˌzoʊn/

Noun

dexamethasone (countable and uncountable, plural dexamethasones)

1. (pharmacology, biochemistry) A synthetic member of the glucocorticoid-class of steroid hormones, having the chemical formula C₂₂H₂₉FO₅, and used especially as an anti-inflammatory agent.

   Many dexamethasones act as anti-inflammatory agents.

   • 2019, Namwali Serpell, The Old Drift, Hogarth, page 245:

     Lee showed her how to feed the baby with the dexamethasone syrup.

   • 2021 March 23, Natalie Grover, Denis Campbell, “Dexamethasone hailed as lifesaver for up to a million Covid patients worldwide”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Dexamethasone, a widely available and affordable generic steroid, was shown to cut the risk of death by a third for Covid patients on ventilators, and by nearly a fifth for those on oxygen therapy.

Hypernyms

• glucocorticoid
• corticosteroid
• steroid
• corticoid
• hormone

Hyponyms

(brand name medicine tradenames)

• Decadron, decadron
• DexPak, Dexpak, dexpak
• Dexasone, dexasone
• Dexone, dexone
• Diodex, diodex
• Hexadrol, hexadrol
• Maxidex, maxidex
• Oradexon, oradexon

Derived terms

• betamethasone

 

Translations

Translations

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: dexametasona (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 地塞米松 (dìsàimǐsōng)

• Finnish: deksametasoni
• French: dexaméthasone (fr)
• German: Dexamethason n
• Portuguese: dexametasona f
• Spanish: dexametasona f

References

• “dexamethasone”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “dexamethasone”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.