healing

[hee-ling]

adjective

1. curing or curative; prescribed or helping to heal.

2. growing sound; getting well; mending.

noun

1. the act or process of regaining health.

   a new drug to accelerate healing.

Other Word Forms

• healingly adverb
• self-healing adjective
• unhealing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of healing¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English heelyng (adjective), helynge (noun); Old English hǣlinge (noun); equivalent to heal + -ing ² for the adjective, heal + -ing ¹ for the noun

Example Sentences

“Nobody’s Girl” is the album as personal quest — for healing, for understanding and for being heard.

From Los Angeles Times

“The last few months have been filled with a lot of healing, rest and reflection,” Watkins said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times

And on Saturday, she may become a world champion, healing the pain of defeat in the 2022 final which she described as "my first real rugby heartbreak".

From BBC

One of the big questions about Watergate has always been whether President Gerald Ford’s pardon of Nixon, offered in the spirit of national healing, did more harm than good.

From Salon

New Yorkers, above all others, really rally together from opposite sides of the street, from totally different backgrounds, and these sort of moments are healing opportunities.

From BBC