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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

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

• panacean
  adjective

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

Parker, an AmeriCorps member at the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea, Fla., near Tallahassee, spends his days studying shellfish.

From Washington Post • Mar. 11, 2023

Those in Bedford lived mostly in houses in and around Albany Road, with several still owned by the Panacea Charitable Trust today.

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

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

The Greeks invoked Asklepios, the god of Medicine, and his daughters Hygeia, the goddess of Health, and Panacea, the All-Healer, who personified attributes of their father.

From Primitive Psycho-Therapy and Quackery by Lawrence, Robert Means

Related Words

• elixir