healing

[hee-ling]

adjective

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

2. growing sound; getting well; mending.

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of healing¹

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

It is kind of the healing factor for young men right now: male relationships that you can be really vulnerable in.

From Los Angeles Times

“This was a place of healing and self-discovery,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

She said she hoped that having the rebuilt club as a community focal point would be “very healing.”

From Los Angeles Times

The singer also said she was due to undergo reconstructive surgery to make her breasts look more similar, adding that there was "lots of healing to go".

From BBC

Filmmaker Wendy Lobel says she’s struggled with anxiety most of her adult life and wanted to make a movie about the topic that would disarm viewers with humor to help promote understanding and healing.

From Los Angeles Times