herbal
Americanadjective
noun
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herbals
plural
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a book about herbs or plants, usually describing their medicinal values.
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a herbarium.
adjective
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of or relating to herbs, usually culinary or medicinal herbs
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informal interested or participating in activities relating to esoteric philosophies, traditional remedies, etc
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of herbal
First recorded in 1510–20, herbal is from the Medieval Latin word herbālis of, belonging to grass or herbs. See herb, -al 1
Vocabulary lists containing herbal
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.
See Examples For:
He self-medicates with a concoction of herbal tea.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Research in the US suggests that 20% of all cases of liver damage are caused by a mixture of herbal and dietary supplements.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
Still, he could salvage something, he said, pointing to his son as he fished out boxes of herbal treatments from under the rubble.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
That’s why I find myself reaching for them whenever a dish needs a little herbal brightness without requiring me to rummage through half the spice cabinet.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
I riffle through the herbal tea bags in the kitchenette, Lemon Mist, Morning Thunder, and bypass them in favor of some thick, jolting, poisonous coffee.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
These motifs became more available with the appearance of printed books of botanical studies, or herbals, three of which —- from 1556, 1598 and 1625 — are displayed here.
From New York Times ● Dec. 8, 2022
Written in the quaint language of “magick” herbals and illustrated with occult woodcuts, The Poisoner’s Handbook caters to the 1980s’ moral panics about teenage Satan worship.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2015
The NYAG’s investigation of store brands of seven herbals at GNC, Walmart, Walgreens, and Target revealed that the majority of products lacked DNA corresponding to the herbal source.
From Forbes ● Apr. 11, 2015
"There's a lot of enthusiasm for antioxidants and herbals, but no evidence to back it up," said Seupaul.
From Reuters ● Dec. 16, 2011
She had taught him all her lore in herbals and healing, and all she knew of the crafts of finding, binding, mending, unsealing and revealing.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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