APA Dictionary of Psychology

n. an alcohol derivative introduced in the 1950s as a nonbarbiturate sedative. Ethchlorvynol is an effective, rapidly acting hypnotic, but because of its toxicity in overdose, as well as its ability to induce enzymes involved in drug metabolism (see enzyme induction) and its association with blood disorders, it has become clinically obsolete. It is at times a substance of abuse. U.S. trade name: Placidyl.