Valium — English Dictionary

Noun

1. The drug diazepam.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   More examples (2)

   These are the minor tranquilizers such as Diazepam (Valium), Chlordiazepoxide (Librium), Oxazepam (Serax), and related benzodiazepines, and Meprobamate, which are used to treat anxiety neurosis.

   Mothers little helpers were pills—Miltown, amphetamine, barbiturates, Librium, and Valium were the most popular and widely available in the fifties and early sixties—that were used to keep women in their place, to make them comfortable in a setting that should have been uncomfortable, to encourage them to focus on tasks that did not matter.

2. A Valium pill.

   Usage

   • Countable

Noun

1. a tranquilizer (trade name Valium) used to relieve anxiety and relax muscles; acts by enhancing the inhibitory actions of the neurotransmitter GABA; can also be used as an anticonvulsant drug in cases of nerve agent poisoning

   Synonyms

   diazepam

   Broader terms

   benzodiazepine