elixir

American  

[ih-lik-ser] / ɪˈlɪk sər /

noun

• elixirs
  plural

1. Pharmacology. a sweetened, aromatic solution of alcohol and water containing, or used as a vehicle for, medicinal substances.

2. Also called elixir of life. an alchemic preparation formerly believed to be capable of prolonging life.

3. an alchemic preparation formerly believed to be capable of transmuting base metals into gold.

4. the quintessence or absolute embodiment of anything.

5. a panacea; cure-all; sovereign remedy.

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elixir British  

/ ɪˈlɪksə /

noun

1. an alchemical preparation supposed to be capable of prolonging life indefinitely ( elixir of life ) or of transmuting base metals into gold

2. anything that purports to be a sovereign remedy; panacea

3. an underlying principle; quintessence

4. a liquid containing a medicinal drug with syrup, glycerine, or alcohol added to mask its unpleasant taste

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• elixirs
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of elixir

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin < Arabic al iksīr alchemical preparation < Late Greek xḗrion drying powder (for wounds), equivalent to Greek xēr ( ós ) dry + -ion, neuter of -ios adj. suffix

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Explanation

Miraculous, magical, and maybe a little mysterious, an elixir is a sweet substance or solution that cures the problem at hand. Elixir is a word often used with a knowing wink — a sort of overstatement of a product's effectiveness, or a decision maker's policy. With linguistic roots in the long-ago alchemists' search for the philosophers' stone, the word has an element of fantasy to spice up anything, like a remedy for the common cold. The mythic fountain of youth is certainly an elixir, but it can also refer to a real liquid, concept, or plan.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

elixir elixirs

And it wasn’t an elixir for all the issues — visas, tickets, transportation — that ailed the tournament in its buildup.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026

Our enterprising Gravedigger, a true woman of science, engineers a lizard elixir and regenerates the finger into a long tentacle that eventually demands a body.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026

Served over ice in a short glass and topped with fruit-salad flotsam, the elixir is lightly caffeinated, mildly fruity and as refreshing as stepping out of the Hanoi humidity into full-blast air conditioning.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

If multipolarism seems like a magic elixir to many, today’s vessel of choice for it is the BRICS.

From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2025

“There’s a special elixir I’ve seen Miss Wren prepare for treating fever,” Addison said.

From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs

Her Anima Mundi Herbals is based in Brooklyn, N.Y., where the company manufactures herbal tinctures, elixirs, teas, herbal supplements and other botanicals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

More than a century ago, hucksters peddled magic elixirs from wagons.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 31, 2024

Trusted servants were sent in search of paradise and magical elixirs, while hundreds of thousands of others were charged with the years-long process of constructing an enormous secret tomb to protect him in the afterlife.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

In the 1980s, Mr. Mateschitz, then a salesman for a company that made personal hygiene products and toothpaste, discovered the elixirs sold in Asian pharmacies as pick-me-ups for workers and truckers.

From New York Times ● Oct. 24, 2022

After my umpteenth trip to the latrine, I figured most of her elixirs are laxatives, but so far I’m holding up better than most.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

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Related Words

• cure-all
• panacea
• potion

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