diethylstilbestrols
diethylstilbestrols is the plural of diethylstilbestrol.
Meaning of diethylstilbestrol
Noun
diethylstilbestrol (countable and uncountable, plural diethylstilbestrols, abbreviation DES)
- A synthetic estrogen drug C₁₈H₂₀O₂ used formerly to prevent miscarriage or premature delivery in humans and to promote growth in livestock. The medical use of diethystilbestrol was discontinued in the U.S. during the early 1970s due to its association with serious side effects (such as reproductive tract abnormalities and increased rates of infertility) in offspring exposed to the drug while developing in the uterus. It is no longer commercially available in the U.S. and its use is currently limited to specially compounded formulations for veterinary care.
- In 1971, yet another such study identified an even more unusual carcinogen, a synthetic hormonal medicine called diethylstilbestrol.2010, Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies, Fourth Estate (2011), page 277
- Synonyms:
- stilbestrol
Questions about diethylstilbestrols
- What is diethylstilbestrols the plural of?
- Diethylstilbestrols is the plural of diethylstilbestrol.
Words near diethylstilbestrols in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: diethylstilbestrols (page history and authors); diethylstilbestrol (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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