adrenal

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Abutting or near the kidneys.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

uhdreenuhl

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IPA pronunciation (US)

ədˈɹinəl

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

Pertaining to the adrenal glands (suprarenal glands), their secretions, or the function derived therefrom.
informal
Full of excitement or adrenaline.
Abutting or near the kidneys.

noun

An adrenal gland.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: C1 · Advanced (estimated)
Frequency: Uncommon
Typical Use: Neutral / general English

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

adrenal cortexadrenal glandadrenal medullaadrenal insufficiencyadrenal hyperplasiaadrenal axisadrenal functionadrenal system

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

adrenal cortexnounCompound term
The cortex of the adrenal gland.
adrenal glandnounCompound term
Either of a pair of complex endocrine glands situated near the kidney.
adrenal medullanounCompound term
The medulla of the adrenal gland.
adrenal cortical steroidnounCompound term
A steroid hormone produced by the adrenal cortex or synthesized.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

adrenalinenounRelated term
A catecholamine secreted by the adrenal medulla in response to stress (trade name Adrenalin).
adrenalinnounRelated term
A catecholamine secreted by the adrenal medulla in response to stress (trade name Adrenalin).
adrenocorticotrophic hormonenounRelated term
A hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland that stimulates the adrenal cortex.
adrenocorticotropic hormonenounRelated term
A hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland that stimulates the adrenal cortex.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: adrenal gland

suprarenal glandTechnical

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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.