phentermine

phentermine — noun

1. a medicine that lowers hunger and may be prescribed to help treat obesity

1.nounC2
Definition

a medicine that lowers hunger and may be prescribed to help treat obesity

Example

Dr. Lee prescribed phentermine for Hana after months of failed diet plans.

prescribe phentermine for [patient]

The clinic stopped giving phentermine to patients with high blood pressure.

stop phentermine for safety reasons

Common collocations
  • prescribe phentermine
  • take phentermine
  • stop phentermine
  • phentermine treatment
  • phentermine use
Synonyms
  • appetite suppressant

    neutral functional term; describes what the medicine does, not this exact drug

  • weight-loss drug

    broader plain-English label for medicines used to help people lose weight

  • diet pill

    everyday and less precise; can also refer to non-prescription products

  • anorectic

    technical medical term for a drug that reduces appetite

Grammar Patterns

uncountable noun

take phentermine

prescribe phentermine for [person]

Usage Note

Usually treated as an uncountable medicine name, so it commonly follows verbs such as 'prescribe', 'take', 'stop', and 'respond to'. It is mainly used in medical or weight-treatment contexts rather than casual everyday talk.

Common Mistakes

My sister takes phentermines every morning.
My sister takes phentermine every morning.
drug names like this are usually uncountable, not plural.
The doctor gave me a phentermine to lose two kilos.
The doctor prescribed phentermine to help treat obesity.
use the medicine name without 'a/an', and use it in a medical treatment context.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Phentermine' is a specific drug name, while the other terms are broader or less exact. An 'appetite suppressant' is any medicine or substance that makes a person feel less hungry, so phentermine is one example of that type. 'Weight-loss drug' is a plain, general label for medicines used in obesity treatment, and it does not explain how the medicine works. 'Diet pill' is more everyday and looser, because people also use it for non-prescription products or doubtful supplements. 'Anorectic' is the most technical term and mainly appears in medical writing. So a doctor may prescribe phentermine, a news report may discuss weight-loss drugs, and a label may call the medicine an appetite suppressant.

phentermine ↗appetite suppressantdiet pillweight-loss druganorectic

Common collocations

Nouns

  • phentermine treatment
  • phentermine use
  • phentermine prescription
  • phentermine tablet

Phrases

  • prescribe phentermine
  • take phentermine
  • stop phentermine
  • go on phentermine

Prepositions

  • on phentermine
  • with phentermine
  • respond to phentermine

Etymology

English

A modern scientific drug name first recorded in English in 1961. It was probably built within English from parts often seen in chemistry vocabulary: 'phenyl', 'tert-' from 'tertiary', and 'amine'. Like many medicine names, it was formed to point to the compound's chemical structure rather than to an everyday meaning.