nostrum
a medicine sold with false or exaggerated claims and with no demonstrable value; quack medicine.
a pet scheme or remedy, especially for social or political ills; panacea: The party was pushing the nostrum of corporate tax reduction, as if that would undo decades of industrial job loss.
a medicine made by the person who recommends it.
a patent medicine.
Origin of nostrum
1Words Nearby nostrum
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use nostrum in a sentence
That stricken soldiers would act out, and be justified in doing so, was a widely accepted nostrum in civilian circles too.
How World War II's ‘Dear John’ Letters Changed American Society | Susan L. Carruthers | February 14, 2022 | TimeCaptain Giuseppe Maggio described the nightmare situations the Mare nostrum ships encounter.
Britain’s Let-Em-All-Die Policy | Nico Hines, Barbie Latza Nadeau | November 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSince Mare nostrum, more than 60 traffickers have been arrested when their boats were intercepted or rescued at sea.
Hundreds of Migrants are Reported Drowned by Traffickers Near Malta | Barbie Latza Nadeau | September 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut if Mare nostrum ends, it could be a tragic day for migrants making the perilous crossing.
Are European Rescuers Enticing Migrants to Their Deaths? | Barbie Latza Nadeau | September 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTInstead, it would like to see additional, strengthened search and rescue missions like Mare nostrum put in place.
Confessions of a Human Trafficker Who Smuggled Desperate Migrants Into Europe | Barbie Latza Nadeau | June 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Arma igitur expediunt, passis velis, instructa acie, directo cursu in nostrum portum inuehuntur.
And now we find another example in that much advertised nostrum, Uriseptin.
So that, like acetanilid, the old argument of the nostrum men that the preparation needs skill in compounding will not hold.
In fact, to be consistent with the ethics of the nostrum business he need have none.
Among other things, it has furnished a demonstration of the value of the honorable assurances of nostrum venders.
British Dictionary definitions for nostrum
/ (ˈnɒstrəm) /
a patent or quack medicine
a favourite remedy, as for political or social problems
Origin of nostrum
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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