: a very potent synthetic estrogen C20H24O2 used especially as an oral contraceptive
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebTaytulla, also called ethinyl estradiol, gained Food and Drug Administration approval in 2013. Austen Hufford, WSJ, 29 May 2018 Tyler’s experiments looked at one type of synthetic estrogen: ethinyl estradiol, or EE2, which is found in oral contraceptives like TriNessa and Seasonique. Becky Little, Smithsonian, 31 July 2017 One environmental estrogen is ethinyl estradiol—a chemical found in birth control pills.National Geographic, 3 Feb. 2016
Word History
First Known Use
1938, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
ethinyl estradiol
noun
variants or ethynylestradiol
ˌeth-ə-nil-ˌes-trə-ˈdī-ˌȯl -ˌōl
or chiefly British ethinyloestradiol or ethynyloestradiol
ˌeth-ə-nil-ˌē-strə-ˈdī-ˌȯl -ē-ˈstrad-ē-ˌȯl
-ˌōl
: a white crystalline very potent synthetic estrogen C20H24O2 prepared from estrone and used in combination (as with norgestrel or norethindrone) as a birth control pill or alone in the treatment of menopausal symptoms or female hypogonadism or in the palliative treatment of prostate or breast cancer see loestrin, minastrin, nuvaring, ortho evra, ortho-novum, ortho tri-cyclen, seasonale, seasonique, yasmin, yaz