adrenaline
noun
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Definition of adrenaline
Note: Adrenaline is used in both technical and nontechnical contexts. It is commonly used in describing the physiological symptoms (such as increased heart rate and respiration) that occur as part of the body's fight-or-flight response to stress, as when someone is in a dangerous, frightening, or highly competitive situation, as well as the feelings of heightened energy, excitement, strength, and alertness associated with those symptoms. In figurative use, it suggests a drug that provides something with a jolt of useful energy and stimulation.
He felt a rush of adrenaline as he parachuted from the airplane. The fans were jubilant, raucous, their adrenaline running high.— W. P. Kinsella My reputation was as a single-day racer; show me the start line and I would win on adrenaline and anger, chopping off my competitors one by one.— Lance Armstrong London's summer antiques scene has been given a massive injection of adrenaline. — Town and CountryExamples of adrenaline in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Charlize Theron is no stranger to thrilling audiences with an adrenaline rush of car-focused features. — Patrick Gomez, EW.com, "Charlize Theron brings you Fast & Furious meets American Ninja Warrior in Netflix's Hyperdrive," 25 July 2019 The modem was slow by today's standards, but the newness of it all was an adrenaline rush. — Dries Buytaert For Cnn Business Perspectives, CNN, "The internet has become a dark place. I want the old one back," 19 July 2019 However, our active search for the elusive creature is giving us an adrenaline rush. — Matt Blitz, Popular Mechanics, "I Found Bigfoot...Maybe," 17 July 2019 Steph and Klay came back with three threes of their own to re-take the lead, an adrenaline-pumping display of shotmaking that saved Golden State’s season. — Rohan Nadkarni, SI.com, "The Warriors Deserve to Win These NBA Finals," 11 June 2019 Bisan’s feed is a mix of adrenaline-pumping skydives and relaxing weekends spent hiking around northern California with her family. — Danielle Williams, SELF, "11 Adventurous Moms Worth Following on Instagram," 20 May 2019 Cruise only recently joined Instagram but has already racked up over one million followers thanks to his adrenaline-pumping posts. — Jodi Guglielmi, PEOPLE.com, "Tom Cruise Jumps Out of Plane 25,000 Feet Up in Death-Defying Stunt for Mission: Impossible – Fallout," 26 Mar. 2018 Her hands and feet turned cold from the adrenaline, as if she’d been caught in a trap. — Nell Zink, Harper's magazine, "Marmalade Sky," 24 June 2019 Short Term: The hypothalamus starts the SAM pathway by sending signals via nerves to the adrenal glands, which release the hormone adrenaline (aka epinephrine). — Bridget Alex, Discover Magazine, "What Science Says About Why You're Stressed and How to Cope," 21 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adrenaline.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for adrenaline
adrenaline
noun
English Language Learners Definition of adrenaline
See the full definition for adrenaline in the English Language Learners Dictionary
adrenaline
noun
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Kids Definition of adrenaline
adrenaline
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Medical Definition of adrenaline
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