pharmaceutical

[fahr-muh-soo-ti-kuh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pharmaceutical ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

pertaining to pharmacy or pharmacists.

noun

a pharmaceutical preparation or product.

Sometimes phar·ma·ceu·tic.

Origin of pharmaceutical

First recorded in 1640–50; pharmaceutic(s) + -al¹

Related formsphar·ma·ceu·ti·cal·ly, adverbnon·phar·ma·ceu·tic, adjectivenon·phar·ma·ceu·ti·cal, adjectivenon·phar·ma·ceu·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for pharmaceutical

medicine, tonic, medication, prescription, opiate, dope, sedative, poison, narcotic, remedy, cure, stimulant, essence, medicament, depressant, potion, pill, physic, pharmaceutic, biologic

Examples from the Web for pharmaceutical

Contemporary Examples of pharmaceutical

The 289-page satire follows Morris Feldstein, a pharmaceutical salesman who gets seduced by a lonely receptionist.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’
Asawin Suebsaeng
January 7, 2015
Whitaker shows how some pharmaceutical companies have cooked the books to make the drugs seem more effective than they are.
Mother’s Little Anti-Psychotic Is Worth $6.9 Billion A Year
Jay Michaelson
November 9, 2014
PG has been used in more than 4,000 food, beverage, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products for more than 50 years.
Europeans Recall Fireball Whiskey Over a Sweetener Also Used in Antifreeze
Tim Mak
October 28, 2014
The patients and their estates agree not to bring legal action against caregivers, pharmaceutical companies, and insurers.
The Upside of Ebola (Yes, There May Actually Be One)
Nick Gillespie
October 13, 2014
Is it art, could it harm her, and does it successfully target—as she intends—the pharmaceutical industry?
Brooklynite Goes Off Her Meds—for Art
Lizzie Crocker
July 23, 2014

Historical Examples of pharmaceutical

Pharmaceutical, Non-officinal, and other Preparations of Arsenic.
Poisons: Their Effects and Detection
Alexander Wynter Blyth
This oil affords a cheap and excellent substitute for olive oil for pharmaceutical and other purposes.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley
At the Smithsonian … exhibits on pharmaceutical dosage forms.
Smithsonian Institution - United States National Museum - Bulletin 240
Anonymous
Pulvis, L. Powders are divided by pharmaceutical writers into two classes—simple and compound.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II
Arnold Cooley
A receipt for this article, upon the authority of Battley, has been going the round of the pharmaceutical works for many years.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II
Arnold Cooley

British Dictionary definitions for pharmaceutical

pharmaceutical

less commonly pharmaceutic

adjective

of or relating to drugs or pharmacy

Derived Formspharmaceutically, adverb

Word Origin for pharmaceutical

C17: from Late Latin pharmaceuticus, from Greek pharmakeus purveyor of drugs; see pharmacy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pharmaceutical

adj.

1640s (pharmaceutic in the same sense is from 1540s), from Late Latin pharmaceuticus "of drugs," from Greek pharmakeutikos, from pharmakeus "preparer of drugs, poisoner" (see pharmacy). Related: Pharmaceuticals; pharmaceutically.

pharmaceutical in Medicine

pharmaceutical

[fär′mə-sōō′tĭ-kəl]

adj.

Of or relating to pharmacy or pharmacists.

n.

A pharmaceutical product or preparation.