curare means A plant, Strychnos toxifera, formerly used in arrow poisons in South America due to its D-tubocurarine content.
curare is pronounced /kjʊˈɹɑː.ɹi/.
Why “curare” is a great word
A toxic resin obtained from various South American plants, used historically as an arrow poison and a source of neuromuscular blocking agents. From a Cariban language; compare forms like Kari'na urari, Trió urari, referring to vines of the genus Strychnos. Unlike “tubocurarine,” the specific, purified alkaloid that silences the synapse, or “hemlock,” the Old World poison that clouds the mind, curare is the dark, crude extract of the jungle itself. It is the viscous paste drying on a hunter’s dart-tip, the precise, terrifying paralysis of a falling monkey in the canopy, and the profound stillness of a muscle under the surgeon’s knife—a testament to the thin veneer between the weapon and the cure.
Etymology
From a Cariban language; compare Kari'na urari, Trió urari, wïrari, Akawaio urari, Pemon urari, Macushi urari, referring to various vines of genus Strychnos.
noun
- A plant, Strychnos toxifera, formerly used in arrow poisons in South America due to its D-tubocurarine content.
- Other South American plants with similar toxins that were also used in arrow poisons, mostly in the family Menispermaceae.
- A substance containing the alkaloid D-tubocurarine, used historically as a muscle relaxant during surgery.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- ayahuasca 80% match — A giant vine native to South America (especially Banisteriopsis caapi), noted for its psychotropic properties. vs curare →
- antidote 79% match — A remedy to counteract the effects of poison. vs curare →
- abrine 78% match — An toxic amino acid obtained from jequirity beans; C₁₂H₁₄N₂O₂, that is different than abrin. vs curare →
- nightshade 78% match — Any of the poisonous plants belonging to the genus Solanum, especially black nightshade or woody nightshade. vs curare →
- wolfsbane 78% match — Any of several poisonous perennial herbs of the genus Aconitum. vs curare →
- balm 78% match — Any of various aromatic resins exuded from certain plants, especially trees of the genus Commiphora of Africa, Arabia and India and Myroxylon of South America. vs curare →
- intoxicate 77% match — To stupefy by doping with chemical substances such as alcohol. vs curare →
- banewort 77% match — Atropa belladonna, deadly nightshade. vs curare →