emetic
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- emetically adverb
- hyperemetic adjective
Etymology
Origin of emetic
1650–60; < Latin emeticus < Greek emetikós, equivalent to émet ( os ) vomiting + -ikos -ic
Explanation
An emetic is a medicine or potion that makes you vomit, which you might be given if you've taken poison or some other harmful substance. You can also use the word emetic in a more figurative sense to describe anything that makes you feel sick — the motion of a boat rocked by a storm could easily be an emetic, and the tuna sandwich the guy sitting next to you on the bus has just unwrapped might also be an emetic for everyone sitting nearby.
Vocabulary lists containing emetic
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Kindred
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The Suffix -ic, Part 4
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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.
In those days, the only available cure was tartar emetic, a compound of antimony that was administered as 12–16 injections given once a week.
From Nature • Nov. 7, 2017
Lee was more like the National Antidote—probably she would have preferred emetic, or gag reflex, something that expressed her unwillingness to humor the Chamber of Commerce or our contemporary age of ubiquity and oversaturation.
From Slate • Apr. 8, 2016
The market had overindulged in speculation and borrowing, and it was issuing its own emetic.
From New York Times • Aug. 4, 2015
It was all a bit offputting as well as emetic.
From The Guardian • Dec. 12, 2012
Fortunately, it proved emetic; and her stomach having rejected all that she had swallowed, she was restored to health, though her recovery was for some time doubtful.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
