alizarin

American  

[uh-liz-er-in] / əˈlɪz ər ɪn /

Also alizarine

noun

Chemistry.

1. a solid appearing reddish-orange as crystals and brownish-yellow as powder, C 14 H 8 O 4 , one of the earliest known dyes, formerly obtained in its natural state from madder and now derived from anthraquinone: used chiefly in the synthesis of other dyes.

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alizarin British  

/ əˈlɪzərɪn /

noun

1. a brownish-yellow powder or orange-red crystalline solid used as a dye and in the manufacture of other dyes. Formula: C 6 H 4 (CO) 2 C 6 H 2 (OH) 2

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Etymology

Origin of alizarin

1825–35; < French alizarine, equivalent to alizar ( i ) (< Spanish < Arabic al the + ʿaṣārah juice) + -ine -ine ¹

Example Sentences

A sea of yellow—ocher, dandelion, goldenrod—seems to support a single tree backed by a dark vacuum, but as our eyes adjust, we realize a barn in deepest alizarin crimson dominates the scene.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

In Britain and Germany, the most prolific consultants were chemists, because of their essential expertise in new products such as acids, soaps, paints and especially synthetic dyes, including mauve and alizarin.

From Nature • Oct. 21, 2019

Another related ruby dye, used since ancient times, was alizarin, originally isolated from the madder plant.

From Scientific American • Apr. 5, 2012

Craig was grateful for the color alizarin crimson.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 20, 2010

Industrially, it ranks next to indigo and alizarin in importance as a natural dye stuff.

From The Chemistry of Plant Life by Thatcher, Roscoe Wilfred