cortisol

From cortisone + -ol.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɔː.tɪ.sɒl/

  • Audio (Berkshire, Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American, without the cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈkoɹ.tɪˌsɔl/, [ˈkoɹ.ɾɪˌsɔl]
• (General American, cot–caught merger, dialects of Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈkoɹ.tɪˌsɑl/, [ˈkoɹ.ɾɪˌsɑl]

  • Audio (North Carolina):

    (file)

• (Canada, dialects of the US) IPA^(key): /ˈkoɹ.tɪˌsɒl/, [ˈkoɹ.ɾɪˌsɒl]
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈkoː.tɪ.sɔl/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈkoː.tə.sɒl/, [ˈkoː.tə.sɔ̟l]

cortisol (countable and uncountable, plural cortisols)

1. (biochemistry, steroids) A glucocorticoid steroid hormone produced by the adrenal cortex that mediates various metabolic processes (such as gluconeogenesis), has anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties, and whose levels in the blood may become elevated in response to physical or psychological stress.

   Synonym: hydrocortisone (as a medication)

   • 2006, Marcus Lira Brandão, Frederico Guilherme Graeff, Neurobiology of Mental Disorders, page 36:

     There is experimental evidence showing that cortisol restrains the intensity and duration of the emergency reaction to stress, and catecholamines have been shown to enhance emotional memory in the amygdala (see subsection on "Noradrenaline"). Thus, individuals lacking cortisol would overstore traumatic memories .

   • 2024 October 17, Sandee LaMotte, “Stress and ‘moon face’: What experts say about this TikTok trend”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     “While chronic stress can lead to increased levels of cortisol in the body, those levels don’t usually rise high enough to create a moon face,” said dermatologist Dr. Rajani Katta, a clinical assistant professor at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

• colorist

Blend of cortisona +‎ -ol.

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -ɔw, (Portugal) -ɔl
• Hyphenation: cor‧ti‧sol

cortisol m (plural cortisóis)

1. (biochemistry, steroids) cortisol (steroid hormone)

• cortiçol

• córtex

• “cortisol”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “cortisol” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “cortisol”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “cortisol”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “cortisol”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

• IPA^(key): /koɾtiˈsol/ [koɾ.t̪iˈsol]
• Rhymes: -ol
• Syllabification: cor‧ti‧sol

cortisol m (plural cortisoles)

1. (biochemistry, steroids) cortisol

   Synonym: hidrocortisona

• “cortisol”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025