remedy
Americannoun
-
something that cures or relieves a disease or bodily disorder; a healing medicine, application, or treatment.
- Synonyms:
- medication, medicament, specific, restorative, cure
-
something that corrects or removes an evil of any kind.
- Synonyms:
- antidote, corrective
-
Law. legal redress; the legal means of enforcing a right or redressing a wrong.
-
Coining. a certain allowance at the mint for deviation from the standard weight and fineness of coins; tolerance.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
any drug or agent that cures a disease or controls its symptoms
-
anything that serves to put a fault to rights, cure defects, improve conditions, etc
a remedy for industrial disputes
-
the legally permitted variation from the standard weight or quality of coins; tolerance
verb
-
to relieve or cure (a disease, illness, etc) by or as if by a remedy
-
to put to rights (a fault, error, etc); correct
Synonym Usage
See cure.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has remediedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have remediedperfect
-
have been remedyingperfect progressive
-
am remedyingprogressive 1st person singular
-
remedyingparticiple
-
is remedyingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
remediessingular 3rd person
-
has been remedyingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
are remedyingprogressive
Past
-
had remediedperfect
-
remediedparticiple
-
had been remedyingperfect progressive
-
was remedyingprogressive singular
-
were remedyingprogressive plural
-
remediedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of remedy
First recorded in 1175–1225; (for the noun) Middle English remedie, from Anglo-French, from Latin remedium, from re- re- + med(ērī) “to heal” ( cf. medical) + -ium -ium; (for the verb) late Middle English remedien, from Middle French remedier, from Latin remediāre, derivative of remedium
Explanation
A remedy is something that relieves or cures a problem or illness. Aloe vera is a common remedy for sunburn. If you're having trouble sleeping, the first remedy you might try is a hot bath and a cup of chamomile tea. If that doesn't help, you may resort to something stronger, like a sedative. If a streetlight shining in your window is part of the problem, you can remedy the situation with some room-darkening shades. But if it's your upstairs neighbors and their all-night partying that's keeping you awake, you may have to consider a legal remedy.
Vocabulary lists containing remedy
Vocabulary from Beyoncé's "Lemonade"
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act IV
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"The Hunger Games" Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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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.
The company then introduced an access fee -- a remedy the EU rejected in April as unsatisfactory.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
And he has been resolved to pursue every legal and administrative avenue, vowing to “exhaust every internal remedy available” until, in his view, justice is served.
From Slate • May 28, 2026
With an informal arrangement, there is often no immediate remedy if your ex changes the amount overnight.
From MarketWatch • May 16, 2026
According to NHSTA, all affected Waymo vehicles received an interim software update to mitigate the issue, but a full remedy for the recall is still under development.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
That remedy came back to haunt the Jacksons.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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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.