pharmaceutical
Americanadjective
noun
-
pharmaceuticals
plural
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
nonpharmaceuticadjective
-
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:
The most recent paper is also relevant to understanding environmental plastic pollution, said Matthew Campen, professor of pharmaceutical research at the University of New Mexico.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Shares of Lilly, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company by market value, rallied above their 50-day moving average to mark their best level since August.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
The researchers believe that pharmaceutical ingredients and other high-value specialty chemicals could be particularly promising applications.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
Drugs for lethal injections are also hard to obtain because many pharmaceutical companies do not want to sell the medications to prisons for that use, since they were developed for life-saving purposes.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Tire peace dividend changed the region once again, and now it is best known for the great gambling casinos of Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods and for the pharmaceutical researchers of Pfizer.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
They are also valuable intermediates in the production of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
He said that the best areas of the market during such a drawdown will be traditional defensive plays like food producers and sellers, pharmaceuticals and tobacco.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Compounded drugs aren’t subject to the same review for safety, effectiveness and quality as approved pharmaceuticals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
In 2025, electrical and electronic equipment alone accounted for about $25.8bn of Indian exports to America, pharmaceuticals about $9.7bn and machinery about $7.2bn.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Tony’s business interests are diverse: waste management, luxury auto exports, pharmaceuticals, etc.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
