healing

American  

[hee-ling] / ˈhi lɪŋ /

adjective

1. curing or curative; prescribed or helping to heal.

2. growing sound; getting well; mending.

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noun

1. the act or process of regaining health.

   a new drug to accelerate healing.

Other Word Forms

• healingly
  adverb
• self-healing
  adjective
• unhealing
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of healing

First recorded before 1000; Middle English heelyng (adjective), helynge (noun); Old English hǣlinge (noun); equivalent to heal + -ing ² for the adjective, heal + -ing ¹ for the noun

Example Sentences

Gil never went over and introduced himself to Sarah, co-owner of the Albuquerque School of Healing Arts, which shared a lot line with Quirky.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

Chan School of Public Health and author of the 2023 book “Project UnLonely: Healing Our Crisis of Disconnection.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 9, 2026

Healing will take a long time, he said.

From BBC • Oct. 1, 2025

A shot of a book titled “The Healing Messages of Water” lingers long enough for us to read that it was also a New York Times bestseller.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2025

I call it a Plan for Healing, she says.

From "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine