Definition of "thalidomide" [thalidomide]

• A sedative and hypnotic drug, C13H10N2O4, withdrawn from general use after it was found to cause severe birth defects when taken during pregnancy. It is sometimes prescribed to treat leprosy. (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.

• "In Britain and elsewhere it was called thalidomide."
• "Some patients today call thalidomide a "miracle" in terms of remission and what is perceived cure."
• "She had heard about a drug called thalidomide that could cure these ulcers and begged her doctor to obtain it from the Brazilian manufacturer."