black resin obtained from certain tropical South American trees, esp Chondrodendron tomentosum, acting on the motor nerves to cause muscular paralysis: used medicinally as a muscle relaxant and by indigenous peoples of South America as an arrow poison any of various trees of the genera Chondrodendron (family Menispermaceae) and Strychnos (family Loganiaceae) from which this resin is obtained
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
cu•ra•re or cu•ra•ri/kyʊˈrɑri, kʊ-/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- Plant Biologya blackish substance made chiefly from tropical plants, used as an arrow poison.
cu•ra•re
(kyŏŏ rär′ē, kŏŏ-),USA pronunciation n.
- Drugsa blackish, resinlike substance derived from tropical plants of the genus Strychnos, esp. S. toxifera, and from the root of pareira, used by certain South American Indians for poisoning arrows and employed in physiological experiments, medicine, etc., for arresting the action of motor nerves.
- Plant Biologya plant yielding this substance.
- Carib kurari
- Portuguese
- 1770–80
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'curare' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
curarize
- curative
- curator
- cure
- gallamine triethiodide
- logania family
- ourari
- pareira
- pedicure
- procure
- scour
- tubocurarine
- woorali
- wourali