1. a bitter white crystalline compound derived from cinchona bark, used as a medicine to treat malaria and as a flavoring in tonic water

Examples

• The doctor prescribed quinine to treat the patient’s malaria.
• Quinine gives tonic water its characteristic bitter taste.
• Early explorers relied on quinine to prevent malaria in tropical regions.
• The medicine contains quinine extracted from the bark of cinchona trees.
• She could taste the quinine in her gin and tonic.
• Quinine was once the primary treatment for malaria before modern antimalarial drugs.