kryptonite

English

Etymology

From a fictional radioactive element, kryptonite, that has a detrimental effect on the otherwise invulnerable character Superman. Formed from Superman's home planet Krypton +‎ -ite, which was named after the chemical element krypton.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkɹɪptənaɪt/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Noun

kryptonite (usually uncountable, plural kryptonites)

  1. (figuratively) The one weakness of something or someone that is otherwise invulnerable.
    Synonyms: Achilles heel, weakness; see also Thesaurus:weak spot
    • 1991 October 25, Bryan Miller, “Restaurants: John Clancy's”, in The New York Times‎[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 February 2021:
      The terrific seven-grain bread here is the kryptonite of restaurant reviewers: two mini-loaves and you are incapacitated.
    • 2006 March 25, Jonathan Leggett, “Cult musicians”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 February 2025:
      So while recording or sampling a Charlie Manson track […] makes for shock rock kudos aplenty, a devotion to Hubbard is kryptonite for credibility.
    • 2016, Marlon Orlando Cole, Orphans: Nature's Beloved, page 93:
      We all have our own kryptonite or kryptonites, so don't tempt yourself by listening to so-called friends who are just demonic tools being used to bring you under.
    • 2025 May 24, “OnlyFans has a shot at ditching its NSFW image”, in FT Weekend (Lex. section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 20:
      But of course porn is kryptonite to many investors.
  2. (slang) Crack cocaine.

Translations

Verb

kryptonite (third-person singular simple present kryptonites, present participle kryptoniting, simple past and past participle kryptonited)

  1. (transitive) To expose to, or attack with, kryptonite.
    • 1998, Phillip Gwynne, Deadly Unna?, Melbourne: Penguin, page 173:
      And even those two were pretty puny, like Superman after he had been kryptonited.
  2. (transitive, figuratively) To destroy, wreck, or ruin; to affect adversely, as Superman is affected by kryptonite.

Further reading

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