emetic

[uh-met-ik]

adjective

1. causing vomiting, as a medicinal substance.

noun

1. an emetic medicine or agent.

emetic

/ ɪˈmɛtɪk /

adjective

1. causing vomiting

noun

1. an emetic agent or drug

Other Word Forms

• emetically adverb
• hyperemetic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of emetic¹

1650–60; < Latin emeticus < Greek emetikós, equivalent to émet ( os ) vomiting + -ikos -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of emetic¹

C17: from Late Latin ēmeticus, from Greek emetikos, from emein to vomit

Example Sentences

Bleeding, purges and emetics were still used to cure disease.

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Treatment involved a “toxic arsenal of emetics, laxatives, diuretics, and expectorants” as well as “lances, leeches, and blisters.”

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You’ll still find yourself treading some familiar territory; I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve sprinkled emetic rat poison in a cocktail to earn some quality alone time with a target in the toilet.

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The word itself – meaningless, infantile, a bit 80s and decidedly naff – is emetic enough without the inefficiency, the pointlessness, the utterly wasted time and opportunity of a procedure that fixes precisely nothing.

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The next night, Rhodes began vomiting again - “you’re pretty coherent, you go in and out of it” - and the emetic foetus reappeared.

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