pharmaceutical
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonpharmaceuticadjective
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nonpharmaceuticaladjective
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nonpharmaceuticallyadverb
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pharmaceuticallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of pharmaceutical
First recorded in 1640–50; pharmaceutic(s) + -al 1
Explanation
A pharmaceutical is any kind of drug used for medicinal purposes, like cough syrup or sleeping pills. You may have heard of a pharmacy, which is a place where you can buy medicinal drugs, or a pharmacist, which is a person who prepares those drugs. In general, a pharmaceutical is anything related to pharmacies or pharmacists, though it especially refers to the kinds of medicines that they sell. Pharmaceuticals are often contrasted with what are called recreational drugs, which are the illegal kind that are generally used for entertainment purposes rather than to help heal the body.
Vocabulary lists containing pharmaceutical
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Pharmacy Words
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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.
See Examples For:
She added that the latest imports uptick was broad-based and led by consumer goods, with "about half the strength attributed to pharmaceutical preparations."
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
The market for weight-loss drugs in the U.S. doesn’t function like a traditional pharmaceutical category, like asthma or Type 2 diabetes.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
Zimbabwe also cited concerns about requests for medical data, presumably to be shared with US pharmaceutical companies, as the reason it rejected a deal.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
The Swiss pharmaceutical company said it would purchase the privately held U.K.-based biotechnology firm, which is developing a new class of antibody-drug conjugates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Through an employment agency she got a job as a secretary at ICI, a multinational pharmaceutical company in Braamfontein, a suburb of Johannesburg.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
Beyond obesity, they see opportunity for large-cap pharmaceuticals, which continue to generate resilient earnings growth even amid patent-expiry worries.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
He said this includes pharmaceuticals which need to be manufactured in micro-gravity conditions before being parachuted to Earth.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
While U.S. technology companies are included in that category, the decline appears to have been led by pharmaceuticals, with industrial production down 35% on the previous quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
The company provides advanced analytical instruments, software, and laboratory services for scientists, clinicians, and researchers for the development of new pharmaceuticals and disease diagnosis.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
Tony’s business interests are diverse: waste management, luxury auto exports, pharmaceuticals, etc.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
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.
