medicine

noun

(uncountable, countable) A substance which specifically promotes healing when ingested or consumed in some way; a pharmaceutical drug.

(loosely, countable) Any treatment or cure.

(uncountable) The study of the cause, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of disease or illness.

(uncountable) The profession and practice of physicians, including surgeons.

(uncountable) Ritual magic used, as by a medicine man, to promote a desired outcome in healing, hunting, or warfare; traditional medicine.

(slang) Recreational drugs, especially alcoholic drinks.

Among the Native Americans, any object supposed to give control over natural or magical forces, to act as a protective charm, or to cause healing.

(mainly historical, uncountable) The profession and practice of nonsurgical physicians as sometimes distinguished from that of surgeons.

(obsolete) A physician.

(obsolete) Black magic, superstition.

(obsolete) A philter or love potion.

verb

(rare, obsolete) To treat with medicine.

Roots

medicusmedic- · Latin · physician, healing

Synonyms for medicine

medicamentn medicationn electuaryadj therapeuticsn otologyn medicinaladj

Synonyms & related words for medicine

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of medicine — including medicament, medication, electuary, therapeutics, otology, medicinal. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to medicine

Explore words related to medicine — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include faradize, pyretotherapy, hemeralopia, adenectomy, nyctalopia, scirrhous, depressomotor, organotherapy. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for medicine

Common synonyms for medicine include medicament, medication, electuary, therapeutics, otology, medicinal — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does medicine come from?

The word medicine breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root medic-, from Latin medicus (“physician, healing”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.