quinine

Syllables: qui·nine/kwɪˈniːn//ˈkwaɪ.naɪn/

quinine noun: an alkaloid with the chemical formula C₂₀H₂₄N₂O₂, originally derived from cinchona bark (from plants of the genus Cinchona), used to treat malaria and as an ingredient of tonic water, which presents as a bitter colourless powder; also, a drug containing quinine or a chemical compound derived from it.

Noun

quinine (countable and uncountable, plural quinines)

An alkaloid with the chemical formula C₂₀H₂₄N₂O₂, originally derived from cinchona bark (from plants of the genus Cinchona), used to treat malaria and as an ingredient of tonic water, which presents as a bitter colourless powder; also, a drug containing quinine or a chemical compound derived from it.
- The alkali of yellow bark may be distinguished from cinchonine by the name of quinine.1821, The Quarterly Journal of Science, Literature, and the Arts, volume 10
- The quinine, being more potent than cinchonine, is generally preferred.1828, The Medical Guide, Quinine, cinchonine, and sulphate of quinine

Verb

quinine (third-person singular simple present quinines, present participle quinining, simple past and past participle quinined)

(archaic, transitive) To treat (someone) with quinine.

Synonyms:

quininize

quinine meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and Malayalam

quinine in Hindi

alkaloid used to treat malaria: कुनैन kunain

quinine in Tamil

குயினின், குயினீன், குயினைன், கொயினா

quinine in Bengali

কুইনাইন

quinine in Malayalam

ക്വയിനാവ്, ജ്വരഹരി

More languagesFewer languages

quinine in Tagalog: kinina

Examples of quinine in a sentence

In spite of quinine, the men sickened day by day.1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 102:
He hadn't the faintest idea what to do with a cold in the head, he just took quinine and continued to blow his nose.1922, Michael Arlen, “2/9/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days, London: W[illiam] Collins Sons & Co., →OCLC:
No bandages, no salves, no quinine, no chloroform.1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, published June 1944, →OCLC, part IV, page 363:
Quinine, taken in the evening, is considered by the Persians as an aphrodisiac aid.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 202:

All 14 example sentences with quinine

Synonyms of quinine

quininize

Forms of quinine

Noun
plural	quinines
Verb
third-person singular present	quinines
present participle	quinining
past participle	quinined
past	quinined

Origin of quinine

The noun is either: * derived from Spanish quina (“quinine”) (a clipping of quinaquina (“Cinchona bark”)) + English -ine (suffix forming names of chemical substances, especially (among others) alkaloidal substances); or * borrowed from French quinine, from quin(quina) (“Cinchona bark”) + -ine (feminine form of -in (suffix forming nouns)). Spanish quinaquina and French quinquina are both derived from Quechua kina-kina, a reduplication of kina (“bark; (specifically) Cinchona bark”). The verb is derived from the noun.

Words formed from quinine

Phrases with quinine

Words that rhyme with quinine

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about quinine

What does quinine mean?: Quinine means an alkaloid with the chemical formula C₂₀H₂₄N₂O₂, originally derived from cinchona bark (from plants of the genus Cinchona), used to treat malaria and as an ingredient of tonic water, which presents as a bitter colourless powder; also, a drug containing quinine or a chemical compound derived from it.
What is quinine in Hindi?: Quinine in Hindi is कुनैन (kunain). See Quinine meaning in Hindi.
How do you use quinine in a sentence?: In spite of quinine, the men sickened day by day.
What part of speech is quinine?: Quinine can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce quinine?: Quinine is pronounced /kwɪˈniːn/ (UK).
What is the plural of quinine?: The plural of quinine is quinines.

Words near quinine in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: quinine (page history and authors); quinine (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); quinine (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); quinine (Malayalam Wiktionary) (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.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-quinine.wav, En-us-quinine.oga.

Cite this entry: “quinine.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/quinine. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.