# atropine

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈa.tɹə.piːn/ · frequency rank #52,159

## Definitions
1. An alkaloid extracted from the plant deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) and other sources, such as the seeds of the thorn-apple. Though overdoses would be fatal it is used as a drug in medicine for its paralytic effects (e.g. in surgery to relax muscles, in dentistry to dry the mouth, in ophthalmology to dilate the pupils).

## Etymology
From Latin Atropa (“genus of deadly nightshade”) + -ine.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/atropine