acetaminophen
noun
Simple meaning
A white crystalline compound used in medicine as an anodyne to relieve pain and reduce fever.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhseetuhminuhfuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əsitəˈmɪnəfən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
canadaus
A white crystalline compound used in medicine as an anodyne to relieve pain and reduce fever.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A white crystalline compound used in medicine as an anodyne to relieve pain and reduce fever.
'Acetaminophen' is the generic name for a common over-the-counter pain reliever and fever reducer, like Tylenol. Native speakers often use the brand name or simply say 'pain reliever' instead.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where you'll really hear it
Pharmacy counter
“The doctor recommended acetaminophen for the pain.”
Doctor visits
“Take acetaminophen every four hours as needed.”
Home medicine cabinet
“Always check the dosage for acetaminophen on the label.”
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.