verb
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to cover or impregnate (a wound, etc) with an ointment, cream, etc
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to treat (a patient) with a medicine
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to add a medication to (a bandage, shampoo, etc)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of medicate
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin medicātus “healed,” past participle of medicāre, medicārī “to heal,” from medicus “physician”; see medical
Explanation
To medicate is to treat an illness with some kind of medicine. You might not need to medicate your bad cold, but you'll most likely need to medicate your strep throat. A doctor will medicate diseases that are diagnosed and can be treated with medicine. If your doctor, for example, decides to medicate you with antibiotics, it means she believes you have an infection caused by bacteria. Medicate comes from medication, from the Late Latin word medicari, "to medicate, heal, or cure."
Vocabulary lists containing medicate
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.
Scott-Wright suggested placing him to sleep on his front, says Emily, and that she should medicate her son for reflux - despite Scott-Wright not seeing the baby during the consultation.
From BBC • May 5, 2026
Unfortunately, alpha-synuclein has proven an especially challenging protein to medicate due to its unruly, disorganized form and lack of clear druggable structures, Disney added.
From Science Daily • Jan. 9, 2024
But even after getting a diagnosis, Hutchings says the response was to "medicate someone, put them in the corner, and hope they get 'better.'"
From Salon • Nov. 29, 2023
“We are running a basic infantry course, which takes Ukrainian recruits and teaches them to shoot well, to move and communicate well within any tactical environment, and to medicate well,” said Maj.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 15, 2022
When they said I was depressed, she refused to let them medicate me.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
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.
