curative
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of curative
1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle French curatif < Medieval Latin cūrātīvus, equivalent to Late Latin cūrāt ( us ) (past participle of curāre to care for, attend to; see cure); see -ive
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.
Pricing a superior — and curative — drug at a similar level as the currently available treatment seemed like a good deal.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
In aplastic anemia, where the marrow stops making enough blood cells, and in inherited blood disorders such as sickle-cell disease, stem-cell transplantation has emerged as a curative therapy as the procedure has become safer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
In reality, patients who unknowingly enrolled in hospice discovered they couldn’t get any curative care, meaning access to certain medications and life-sustaining treatments like dialysis was immediately cut off.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
“Shrinking” executive producers and co-creators Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein also work together on that surprise curative, which dragged most of us through the pandemic and beyond.
From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2026
Mom was big on the curative powers of sleep.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
