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:
But as has become increasingly clear, private equity is not the panacea that many made it out to be.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
Of course, passing American Dream and Promise Act is not a panacea.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
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
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
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
"This includes funding the Panacea Museum, various educational programmes and its local grants programme, which since 2001 has provided almost £2m of funding to worthwhile community organisations in Bedford and its surrounding areas."
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
Mr. Bearden had not planned to stay in Panacea when he visited his aunt in 2014.
From New York Times ● Oct. 11, 2018
To illustrate the value of this blessing, he referred to the imaginary Elixir of Life, the Philosopher's Stone, and the Universal Panacea.
From American Scenes, and Christian Slavery A Recent Tour of Four Thousand Miles in the United States by Ebenezer Davies
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
Even the brain-boosting techniques that seem to work are not panaceas.
From Slate ● Dec. 13, 2021
Hence it is not surprising that all these motives combined turn the imagination of millions to the new panaceas.
From Psychology and Social Sanity by Hugo Münsterberg
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
