panacea
noun
a remedy for all disease or ills.
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panacea
1 American
[pan-uh-see-uh]
/ ˌpæn əˈsi ə /
Panacea
2
American
[pan-uh-see-uh]
/ ˌpæn əˈsi ə /
noun
panacea
British
/ ˌpænəˈsɪə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of panacea
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin, from Greek panákeia, equivalent to panake-, stem of panakḗs “all-healing” ( pan- “all” + akḗs “a cure”) + -ia noun suffix; pan-, -ia
Explanation
If someone offers you a pill that promises eternal life, don’t take the pill. It’s a panacea, a remedy that falsely claims to solve every problem ever. The Greek word pan means “all” (think of a panorama, a view where you can see everywhere). The Greek word for “cure” is akēs (which looks like the word “aches”). Those are the roots of panacea, a cure for all aches. But a panacea doesn’t really cure everything; it just acts like it can. Use the word to describe an unbelievable solution, like a new law that will make everyone rich, or a robot that does your homework for you.
Vocabulary lists containing panacea
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
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For National Pancake Day, Words With the Greek Roots "Pan-"
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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.
See Examples For:
We took a lot of long walks to help deal with the stress of the not knowing, but the magic panacea for me came the day Steve’s Harley-Davidson arrived in one of the crates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
It’s a panacea, but they aren’t yet ready for use in production vehicles.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
When sliced, each irregular disk holds triterpenoids and p-couramic acid — panacea to reduce inflammation, with potential anti-cancer properties.
From Salon ● May 9, 2026
"For now, creatine is best viewed as a supplement with significant potential, but not a panacea," Dr. Boroujerdi says.
From Science Daily ● May 4, 2026
The long promised “breakthrough,” when or if it comes, cannot be expected to be a panacea for all types of malignancy.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Parker, an AmeriCorps member at the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea, Fla., near Tallahassee, spends his days studying shellfish.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 11, 2023
Those in Bedford lived mostly in houses in and around Albany Road, with several still owned by the Panacea Charitable Trust today.
From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2019
The Panacea Society began in 1918 after its leader, Octavia, was discovered by her first followers to be the Daughter of God.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 19, 2019
He had been wanting to leave Panacea, in fact, for four years, but had not mustered the financial wherewithal to do it, and the arrival of a Category 4 hurricane did nothing to change that.
From New York Times ● Oct. 11, 2018
Peabody's Panacea, let me tell you, sir, is the great remedy of the age.
From Risen from the Ranks Harry Walton's Success by Alger, Horatio
Some parents of children with autism, desperate for a remedy, have long reached for dubious and at times dangerous panaceas, including hyperbaric oxygen chambers and chelation therapy, used for the treatment of heavy metal poisoning.
From Salon ● Dec. 15, 2025
They are not panaceas, but they can help to set the tenor of debate.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 1, 2023
Digital platforms are not panaceas for food insecurity, notes Georgiana Nica-Avram at Nottingham University Business School.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2022
There are no such instant championship panaceas awaiting local squads this season.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 29, 2018
She had heard of panaceas, things which cured all ills alike; but hitherto they had found no place in her simple creed.
From The Long Night by Weyman, Stanley John
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.
