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:
FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, has repeatedly positioned the sport as a force for inclusion and social cohesion; soccer diplomacy is being elevated as the panacea for our current global disharmony.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
But the trend is far short of a panacea.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 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 layoffs also lend credence to a growing public perception that AI isn’t a panacea but a job killer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
In fact, I don’t share the belief, held by many union staffers, that unionization would be a panacea.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
Southcott's box was kept in The Bishops' House, on Newnham Road, which is now the home to the Panacea Museum.
From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2019
Their home is Panacea, a 47-foot yacht-style boat.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 14, 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
The water lunged into Panacea, turning roads into canals before the sea’s surge receded in the wee hours Thursday.
From New York Times ● Oct. 11, 2018
This person possessed also the Universal Panacea, and it is asserted that he was seen still alive by a French traveller at the end of the seventeenth century.
From The Magician by Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset)
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
Digital platforms are not panaceas for food insecurity, notes Georgiana Nica-Avram at Nottingham University Business School.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2022
But the foster system and adoption are far from panaceas.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 1, 2022
There are no such instant championship panaceas awaiting local squads this season.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 29, 2018
"Some result must come out of all these years of pondering and discomfort, if only as a memorial to her," he reflected, and he burrowed again amongst the innumerable panaceas.
From The Four Corners of the World by Mason, A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley)
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.
