Xanax

English

Etymology

A trademarked name, coined by Pfizer.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈzæn.æks/
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    Audio (US):

    (file)

Proper noun

Xanax (countable and uncountable, plural Xanax or Xanaxes)

1. (trademark, pharmacology) A brand name for alprazolam.

   Synonyms: (slang) Xan, (slang) Xanny

   • 1990, Washingtonian, page 223:

     “After taking one or two Xanax every night for eight years, my doctor told me I had to stop,” says a middle-aged Montgomery County homemaker.

   • 1991, Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho, London: Picador, →ISBN, page 226:

     My rage is controlled, barely, by a Xanax and an Absolut on the rocks.

   • 1991, John Sandford [pseudonym; John Roswell Camp], chapter 16, in Eyes of Prey:

     A half-dozen black beauties gave him the edge he needed, a couple of purple egg-shaped Xanaxes cooled his nerves.

   • 2008 February 7, James Barron, “Medical Examiner Rules Ledger’s Death Accidental”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     Also in Mr. Ledger’s system were three anti-anxiety medications: diazepam, the generic name for Valium; alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax; and temazepam […] .

   • 2020, Paul Rudnick, Coastal Elites, spoken by Clarissa Montgomery (Sarah Paulson):

     Take a deep, healing breath, and imagine that you're not even on Twitter, or Facebook, or Xanax.

Derived terms

• Xanaxed
• xanbie

 

References

• “Xanax”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.