cure
1 Americannoun
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a means of healing or restoring to health; remedy.
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a method or course of remedial treatment, as for disease.
- Synonyms:
- antidote , specific , restorative , remedy
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successful remedial treatment; restoration to health.
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a means of correcting or relieving anything that is troublesome or detrimental.
The administration is seeking a cure for inflation.
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the act or a method of preserving meat, fish, etc., by smoking, salting, or the like.
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spiritual or religious charge of the people in a certain district.
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the office or district of a curate or parish priest.
verb (used with object)
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to restore to health.
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to relieve or rid of something detrimental, such as an illness or a bad habit.
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to correct (a document, especially a mail-in ballot) in order to make it valid.
If the voter’s signature is missing, the county board sends them a certification form allowing the voter to cure the ballot so it can be counted.
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to prepare (meat, fish, etc.) for preservation by salting, drying, etc.
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to promote hardening of (fresh concrete or mortar), as by keeping it damp.
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to process (rubber, tobacco, etc.) as by fermentation or aging.
verb (used without object)
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to effect a cure.
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to become cured.
noun
PLURAL
curésverb
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(tr) to get rid of (an ailment, fault, or problem); heal
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(tr) to restore to health or good condition
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(intr) to bring about a cure
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(tr) to preserve (meat, fish, etc) by salting, smoking, etc
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(tr)
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to treat or finish (a substance) by chemical or physical means
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to vulcanize (rubber)
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to allow (a polymer) to set often using heat or pressure
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(tr) to assist the hardening of (concrete, mortar, etc) by keeping it moist
noun
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a return to health, esp after specific treatment
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any course of medical therapy, esp one proved effective in combating a disease
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a means of restoring health or improving a condition, situation, etc
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the spiritual and pastoral charge of a parish
the cure of souls
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a process or method of preserving meat, fish, etc, by salting, pickling, or smoking
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Related Words
Cure, heal, remedy imply making well, whole, or right. Cure is applied to the eradication of disease or sickness: to cure a headache. Heal suggests the making whole of wounds, sores, etc.: to heal a burn. Remedy applies especially to making wrongs right: to remedy a mistake.
Other Word Forms
- cureless adjective
- curelessly adverb
- curer noun
- half-cured adjective
- overcured adjective
- semicured adjective
- uncured adjective
- well-cured adjective
Etymology
Origin of cure1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, Old French noun cure, from Latin cūra “care”; verb derivative of the noun
Origin of curé2
1645–55; < French, Old French; modeled on Medieval Latin cūrātus parish priest; curate
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Still, a strong sequel has often proved a cure for what ails Hollywood, and the Thanksgiving weekend was no exception.
From MarketWatch
Unlike some former Hansen’s patients who didn’t want to live on the “outside,” my dad chose to leave Carville when he was cured, but Carville never left him or our family.
From Salon
AMD is one of the leading causes of severe vision impairment in older adults, with no cure and limited treatment options once vision has significantly declined.
From Salon
Yet he adds that it won't be "the panacea" that cures an Argentine economy that has long battled high inflation and public spending, and defaulting on its national debt.
From BBC
In the latest study, the team set out to solve a more difficult challenge: preventing or curing diabetes driven by autoimmunity, where the immune system spontaneously targets and kills the body's own islet cells.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.