curative

[ kyoor-uh-tiv ]

adjective

1. serving to cure or heal; pertaining to curing or remedial treatment; remedial.

noun

1. a curative agent; remedy.

curative

/ ˈkjʊərətɪv /

adjective

1. able or tending to cure

noun

1. anything able to heal or cure

Derived Forms

• ˈcurativeness, noun
• ˈcuratively, adverb

Other Words From

• cura·tive·ly adverb
• non·cura·tive adjective
• non·cura·tive·ly adverb
• non·cura·tive·ness noun
• sub·cura·tive noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of curative¹

1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle French curatif < Medieval Latin cūrātīvus, equivalent to Late Latin cūrāt ( us ) (past participle of curāre to care for, attend to; cure ); -ive

Example Sentences

Hannah’s disability is a kind of liability for the curative powers from which Papa derives his reputation and on whose earning power the family depends.

From Washington Post

Therefore inflammation was merely a cellular response to an external agent, a body’s curative reaction.

From Nautilus

The healthcare economist Zack Cooper is not as optimistic about the curative powers of price transparency.

From Freakonomics

In his 2019 essay on The Healing Power of Gardens, the late neurologist Oliver Sacks tried to grasp the mysterious curative effects of nature on the human body.

From Quartz

The Boston Globe, however, concluded that the serum “is believed to be preventative as well as curative,” suggesting that this measure could decrease the number of cases and deaths, thus bringing the epidemic under control.

From Washington Post

But in all cases, the appropriate course of antibiotics has been curative.

From The Daily Beast

For thousands of years men and women in many cultures have used cannabis as a curative and a source of fiber and oil.

From The Daily Beast

Nora could arm and disarm within a sentence, could wield a barb and its curative salve within a phrase.

From The Daily Beast

Nobel Prize winner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn credited kombucha with curative properties in his novel The Cancer Ward.

From The Daily Beast

Since the liver regenerates, “that can be curative—or at least it can let patients do a lot better.”

From The Daily Beast

Frret's were preventive, Holbach's curative, but appear to be rather strong dose for a dvote.

From Project Gutenberg

Saliva, like tears, had creative and therefore curative qualities; it also expelled and injured demons and brought good luck.

From Project Gutenberg

The defendant had agreed to send for the curative charm to a wise woman in the mountains.

From Project Gutenberg

This was a curative act, authorizing elections and prescribing methods of registration.

From Project Gutenberg

An interesting Cherokee myth is that which recounts the origin of disease, and the consequent institution of curative medicine.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• corrective
• healthful
• invigorating
• medicinal
• remedial
• salutary
• therapeutic