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• panacea
  panacea

  noun

  a remedy for all disease or ills.
• Panacea
  Panacea

  noun

  an ancient Greek goddess of healing.

panacea

¹ American  

[pan-uh-see-uh] / ˌpæn əˈsi ə /

noun

panaceas plural

1. a remedy for all disease or ills.

   Synonyms:

   cure-all, nostrum, elixir

2. an answer or solution for all problems or difficulties.

   His economic philosophy is a good one, but he tries to use it as a panacea.

   Synonyms:

   cure-all, nostrum, elixir

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Panacea ² American  

[pan-uh-see-uh] / ˌpæn əˈsi ə /

noun

1. an ancient Greek goddess of healing.

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panacea British  

/ ˌpænəˈsɪə /

noun

1. a remedy for all diseases or ills

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• panacean
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• panaceas
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

panacea Panacea panaceas

American schools have wrestled with learning loss for the better part of a decade and no one has found a panacea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 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

It’s a panacea, but they aren’t yet ready for use in production vehicles.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 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

He will talk quickly and eagerly about nothing at all, snatching at any subject as a panacea to pain.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

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

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

Obesity researchers Peter Janiszewski and Travis Saunders, in Obesity Panacea, focus on the latest weight-loss gimmicks, plumbing questions such as whether Instagram fitness gurus inspire people to become more active.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 23, 2018

He had been wanting to leave Panacea, in fact, for four years, but had not mustered the financial wherewithal to do it, and the arrival of a Category 4 hurricane did nothing to change that.

From New York Times ● Oct. 11, 2018

All the daughters of Asclepius the physician--Hygiea, Panacea, Iaso, and �gle--were specialists in medicine.

From Greek Women by Carroll, Mitchell

There are no panaceas, but we can and must do better for our communities and those suffering from behavioral health issues.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 17, 2023

They aren't panaceas, however, and these drugs can come with side effects or just fail to work for some individuals.

From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2022

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

Potable gold was one of the panaceas of ancient quacks.

From Folk-lore of Shakespeare by Thiselton-Dyer, Thomas Firminger

Related Words

• elixir