ayahuasca

noun

aya·​hua·​sca ˌī-yə-ˈ(h)wä-skə How to pronounce ayahuasca (audio)
: a psychoactive beverage containing dimethyltryptamine that is prepared especially from the bark of a woody vine (Banisteriopsis caapi of the family Malpighiaceae) and the leaves of a shrubby plant (Psychotria viridis of the family Rubiaceae) of South America

Note: Ayahuasca produces hallucinations and euphoria and is used chiefly for religious, ritualistic, and medicinal purposes. Alkaloids present in ayahuasca inhibit the breakdown of dimethyltryptamine in the liver and gastrointestinal tract by monoamine oxidase.

Ayahuasca has been traditionally used by indigenous groups and mestizo populations for getting in contact with the sacred or supernatural world, for political and artistic purposes, and also for healing.—Rafael Guimarães dos Santos et al.
In Europe and North America, those who want to use ayahuasca for religious purposes have pitted the issue of religious freedom against the fear that the potion might be diverted to recreational drug users.—Joanne Laucius

called also hoasca, yage

Examples of ayahuasca in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web And not all of the research is equally sound—the pea-shoot study, for example, performed in 2016 by the ecologist Monica Gagliano, who has written about communicating with plants while taking ayahuasca, is particularly controversial, and a replication effort was not successful. —Rachel Riederer, The New Yorker, 12 June 2024 For the uninitiated, plant medicine is when people take ketamine, psilocybin, MDMA, or ayahuasca for psychological reasons. —Brian Moylan, Vulture, 7 May 2024 Each of them has studied the healing modality for a minimum of ten years to equip them to safely and responsibly deliver ayahuasca healing. —Michaela Trimble, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Jan. 2023 During his regular appearance on The Pat McAfee Show Tuesday, the New York Jets quarterback showed his appreciation for ayahuasca, but did not go so far as to endorse it to the greater public. —Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 2 Jan. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ayahuasca 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ayahuasca.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

American Spanish

First Known Use

1870, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ayahuasca was in 1870

Dictionary Entries Near ayahuasca

ayah

ayahuasca

ayapana

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Ayahuasca.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ayahuasca. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.

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Medical Definition

ayahuasca

noun
aya·​hua·​sca ˌī-ə-ˈ(h)wä-skə How to pronounce ayahuasca (audio)
variants also ayahuasco
ˌī-ə-ˈ(h)wä-(ˌ)skō, -skə
: a psychoactive beverage containing dimethyltryptamine that is prepared especially from the bark of a woody vine (Banisteriopsis caapi of the family Malpighiaceae) and the leaves of a shrubby plant (Psychotria viridis of the family Rubiaceae) of South America

Note: Ayahuasca produces hallucinations and euphoria and is used chiefly for religious, ritualistic, and medicinal purposes. Alkaloids present in ayahuasca inhibit the breakdown of dimethyltryptamine in the liver and gastrointestinal tract by monoamine oxidase.

Ayahuasca has been traditionally used by indigenous groups and mestizo populations for getting in contact with the sacred or supernatural world, for political and artistic purposes, and also for healing.—Rafael Guimaraes dos Santos et al., Archives of Clinical Psychiatry
Their fascination with ayahuasca stems from a little-known mind-altering compound called dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, a substance the sacred tea contains by the bucketload.—Lisa Melton, New Scientist
also : the woody vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) from which ayahuasca is prepared

called also caapi, yage

More from Merriam-Webster on ayahuasca

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ayahuasca

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