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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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medicatesimple
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medicatessimple
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have medicatedperfect
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has medicatedperfect
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am medicatingprogressive
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are medicatingprogressive
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is medicatingprogressive
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have been medicatingperfect progressive
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has been medicatingperfect progressive
Past
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medicatedsimple
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had medicatedperfect
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was medicatingprogressive
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were medicatingprogressive
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had been medicatingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Adrian Aceves, a physician living in downtown Washington, said he'd be staying in with his five-year-old mutt Rosy, "trying to distract her with treats and toys, and I will medicate her."
From Barron's • Jul. 2, 2026
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
“I’m angry! Why can’t you let me be angry? Why do you have to medicate away everything I feel?”
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
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.
