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After bromine was discovered in 1827, chemists could not resist experimenting with the new element. It didn't take long before they found uses for its compounds, in particular potassium bromide, which was used as a sedative to treat everything from epilepsy to sleeplessness. By the 20th century, bromide was being used figuratively to apply to anything or anyone that might put one to sleep because of commonness or just plain dullness.
Examples of bromide in a Sentence
His speech had nothing more to offer than the usual bromides about how everyone needs to work together.
a newspaper editorial offering the timeworn bromide that people should settle their differences peacefully
Recent Examples on the Web
But Lee, wise to how the heart stutters, didn’t pander to audiences with bromides like love is love.
—
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025
Antihistamines to reduce the body’s immune response (e.g., diphenhydramine)
Bronchodilators to open the airways (e.g., albuterol or ipratropium bromide and albuterol)
Your healthcare team will continue to assess your health status and give additional medications if needed.
—Carrie Madormo, Rn, Health, 19 Oct. 2024
The two-dimensional characters communicate in bromides; Lena’s fellow privates, who suffer from the laziest defining characteristics (coarse Southern gal, proper preacher’s daughter, New Yorker), are the worst offenders.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 6 Dec. 2024
In place of triumph-of-the-human-spirit bromides, though, what the book delivers is its own kind of cinema, harsh and true.
—New York Times, 8 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for bromide
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Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025
Antihistamines to reduce the body’s immune response (e.g., diphenhydramine)
Bronchodilators to open the airways (e.g., albuterol or ipratropium bromide and albuterol)
Your healthcare team will continue to assess your health status and give additional medications if needed.
—Carrie Madormo, Rn, Health, 19 Oct. 2024
The two-dimensional characters communicate in bromides; Lena’s fellow privates, who suffer from the laziest defining characteristics (coarse Southern gal, proper preacher’s daughter, New Yorker), are the worst offenders.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 6 Dec. 2024
In place of triumph-of-the-human-spirit bromides, though, what the book delivers is its own kind of cinema, harsh and true.
—New York Times, 8 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for bromide
Cite this Entry
“Bromide.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bromide. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bromide
noun
bro·mide
ˈbrō-ˌmīd 
: any of various compounds of bromine with another element or a chemical group including some used as sedatives
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