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Definition of "belladonna" [bel•la•don•na]

  • A poisonous Eurasian perennial herb (Atropa belladonna) having usually solitary, nodding, purplish-brown, bell-shaped flowers and glossy black berries. Also called deadly nightshade. (noun)
  • An alkaloidal extract or tincture derived from this plant and used in medicine. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "belladonna" in a sentence
  • "She had read about some of them in her herbology book: a substance called belladonna, which women applied to their eyes to beautify the pupils and which could lead to blindness, and another one called arsenic, which women swallowed in order to improve their skin and which was fatal in large enough doses."
  • "They call the belladonna Aaron's Beard in the country, you know; and it is true that the cattle, simple as they are, are never harmed by it; just because, though it is always in their path, they never stop and taste it."
  • "Other presses such as belladonna, for example, can pretty much only be found if you show up at a reading in New York, or you order a book directly from the series organizers."