alternative medicine

American  

1. healthcare and treatment practices, including traditional Chinese medicine, chiropractic, folk medicine, and naturopathy, that minimize or eschew the use of surgery and drugs.

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alternative medicine British  

noun

1. another name for complementary medicine See also holism

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alternative medicine Scientific  

/ ôl-tûr′nə-tĭv /

1. A variety of therapeutic or preventive health-care practices that are not typically taught or practiced in traditional medical communities and offer treatments that differ from standard medical practice. Homeopathy, herbal medicine, and acupuncture are types of alternative medicine.

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alternative medicine Cultural  

1. Medical practice or therapy that uses methods that have not been associated with the traditional, standard care most generally taught and executed by AMA-certified medical schools.

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Discover More

Alternative medicine includes practices such as acupuncture, naturopathy, and chiropractic, as well as such therapies as chelation therapy, homeopathic remedies, and biofeedback. There has been an explosion of interest in alternative medicine in recent years.

Etymology

Origin of alternative medicine

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alternative medicine

By then, Mom had shifted away from nursing school and was opening her mind to alternative medicine and a more natural and organic way of life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026

Means opened a practice focused on functional medicine, a form of alternative medicine, and began recommending supplements and blood tests on social media.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025

For the Milla character, Strauss researched orthorexia, an eating disorder in which people are obsessed with “healthy” food, and also delved into the history of alternative medicine retreats like the one Milla visits in Mexico.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025

In the UK, apart from chiropractic, there is no professional statutory regulation of the complementary and alternative medicine sector.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2024

Drawing on his background studying alternative medicine in Jalisco, Mexico, he's been helping tend the land for the last three years.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2024