Meaning & use
amitriptyline
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablemedical
A prescription medicine of the tricyclic type, used to treat depression and also, in low doses, nerve pain and to prevent migraines.
Grammar: Not used with a plural: she takes amitriptyline, not amitriptylines.
Patterns
- take amitriptyline
- amitriptyline for something
The doctor prescribed amitriptyline for her chronic nerve pain.
Amitriptyline can make you feel sleepy, so many patients take it at night.
He was started on a low dose of amitriptyline to help prevent migraines.
Common combinations
- prescribe amitriptyline
- Doctors sometimes prescribe amitriptyline when other pain treatments fail.
- take amitriptyline
- She takes amitriptyline every evening before bed.
- a low dose of amitriptyline
- A low dose of amitriptyline helped him sleep through the night.
- amitriptyline tablets
- The pharmacist handed over a box of amitriptyline tablets.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tricyclic antidepressant
- This is the wider drug class that amitriptyline belongs to, so it is less specific than the drug name.
- antidepressant
- Antidepressant names any drug of that purpose, while amitriptyline names one particular medicine.
Word family
- antidepressant noun
- a drug used to treat depression
- tricyclic adjective
- describing a drug class with a three-ring chemical structure
- medication noun
- medicine taken for a condition
Commonly confused: amitriptyline or nortriptyline?
amitriptyline vs nortriptyline
Nortriptyline is a closely related tricyclic drug with a similar name, but it is a different medicine with different dosing.
Practice
Which sentence uses the word correctly?
Choose one answer.
Amitriptyline is an uncountable drug name used without a plural. It treats mood and nerve pain, not broken legs, and it is not a plant.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “amitriptyline”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.