What does chlorpromazine mean?
Chlorpromazine is a synthetic antipsychotic medication belonging to the phenothiazine class, best known under brand names such as Thorazine (US) and Largactil (UK). Introduced in the early 1950s, it was the first effective drug treatment for schizophrenia and transformed psychiatric practice: by calming agitation, reducing hallucinations and delusions, and enabling many patients to be treated outside institutions, it helped drive the deinstitutionalisation of mental health care. It also has antiemetic properties and is sometimes used to control severe nausea and vomiting. Administered orally or by injection, it works mainly by blocking dopamine receptors in the brain, though its sedative effects are considerable. Today it is less commonly prescribed than newer antipsychotics, but it remains on essential-medicine lists worldwide and occupies a landmark place in medical history.
nounA synthetic antipsychotic drug of the phenothiazine class, used chiefly to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe nausea or vomiting.
- An antipsychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.
- An antiemetic drug used to control severe nausea and vomiting.
"Chlorpromazine revolutionised psychiatric care in the 1950s by allowing many patients with schizophrenia to leave long-stay institutions."
"The psychiatrist adjusted the patient's dose of chlorpromazine until the hallucinations subsided."
"Chlorpromazine was once widely given to calm nausea when other antiemetics failed."
When chlorpromazine arrived in the 1950s, mental hospitals around the world began emptying — one pill did more to reshape psychiatry than any therapy before it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chlorpromazine
The name chlorpromazine was coined in mid-20th-century pharmaceutical chemistry from 'chlor-' (referring to the chlorine atom in the molecule), 'prom-,' and '-azine', reflecting its chemical relationship to the earlier drug promethazine, from which it was derived. Both compounds belong to the phenothiazine family, whose name combines 'pheno-' and 'thiazine'. The word entered English in the 1950s alongside the drug's clinical introduction in France and subsequent adoption worldwide.
How chlorpromazine is actually used
Strictly a technical/medical term, encountered in clinical, pharmacological, and historical contexts rather than everyday conversation. Often referred to generically as an antipsychotic or neuroleptic in broader discussion.
Easily confused with chlorpromazine
Clozapine is a different, later-generation antipsychotic drug; chlorpromazine is an older phenothiazine introduced in the 1950s.
Chlorphenamine is an antihistamine used for allergies, whereas chlorpromazine is an antipsychotic and antiemetic.