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remedy

American  
[rem-i-dee] / ˈrɛm ɪ di /

noun

remedies plural
  1. something that cures or relieves a disease or bodily disorder; a healing medicine, application, or treatment.

    Synonyms:
    medication, medicament, specific, restorative, cure
  2. something that corrects or removes an evil of any kind.

    Synonyms:
    antidote, corrective
  3. Law. legal redress; the legal means of enforcing a right or redressing a wrong.

  4. Coining. a certain allowance at the mint for deviation from the standard weight and fineness of coins; tolerance.


verb (used with object)

remedies, present (3rd person singular) remedied, past participle, past remedying present participle
  1. to cure, relieve, or heal.

    Antonyms:
    worsen
  2. to restore to the natural or proper condition; put right.

    to remedy a matter.

    Synonyms:
    renew, redress, correct, repair
  3. to counteract or remove.

    to remedy an evil.

remedy British  
/ rɪˈmiːdɪəbəl, ˈrɛmɪdɪ /

noun

  1. any drug or agent that cures a disease or controls its symptoms

  2. anything that serves to put a fault to rights, cure defects, improve conditions, etc

    a remedy for industrial disputes

  3. the legally permitted variation from the standard weight or quality of coins; tolerance

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to relieve or cure (a disease, illness, etc) by or as if by a remedy

  2. to put to rights (a fault, error, etc); correct

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

See cure.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing remedy

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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