pharmaceutical

American  

[fahr-muh-soo-ti-kuhl] / ˌfɑr məˈsu tɪ kəl /

Sometimes pharmaceutic

adjective

1. pertaining to pharmacy or pharmacists.

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noun

• pharmaceuticals
  plural

1. a pharmaceutical preparation or product.

pharmaceutical British  

/ ˌfɑːməˈsjuːtɪkəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to drugs or pharmacy

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonpharmaceutic
  adjective
• nonpharmaceutical
  adjective
• nonpharmaceutically
  adverb
• pharmaceutically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pharmaceuticals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pharmaceutical

First recorded in 1640–50; pharmaceutic(s) + -al ¹

Explanation

A pharmaceutical is any kind of drug used for medicinal purposes, like cough syrup or sleeping pills. You may have heard of a pharmacy, which is a place where you can buy medicinal drugs, or a pharmacist, which is a person who prepares those drugs. In general, a pharmaceutical is anything related to pharmacies or pharmacists, though it especially refers to the kinds of medicines that they sell. Pharmaceuticals are often contrasted with what are called recreational drugs, which are the illegal kind that are generally used for entertainment purposes rather than to help heal the body.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pharmaceutical pharmaceuticals

The Swiss pharmaceutical company said Tuesday that the study results for the drug, enicepatide, reinforce its ambitions to rapidly develop its portfolio of medicines for people with obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

“There is a sustainable innovation ecosystem in China that is now developing assets that are of the quality and the maturity that Western pharmaceutical companies are going to pay attention to.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

After early experiments with thiostrepton produced encouraging results, researchers helped establish RS Oncology, a private pharmaceutical company created to move the UVM discoveries toward clinical testing.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026

Jenny, a 50-year-old pharmaceutical worker who declined to give her surname, said that "businesses cannot possibly regulate themselves".

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

From his PhD research on Korean pharmaceutical companies, Jim knew that the price of a drug to the public often had little to do with the costs of manufacturing or distributing it.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

In 2025, electrical and electronic equipment alone accounted for about $25.8bn of Indian exports to America, pharmaceuticals about $9.7bn and machinery about $7.2bn.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Beyond his exploits in Sao Paulo's financial hub Faria Lima, high-flying Vorcaro invested in real estate, pharmaceuticals, textiles and even soccer.

From Barron's ● Sep. 5, 2026

And it carries industrial chemicals, pesticides and pharmaceuticals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Last year, Americans spent $915 billion on pharmaceuticals — that’s more than the gross domestic product of Ireland.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

Tony’s business interests are diverse: waste management, luxury auto exports, pharmaceuticals, etc.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Related Words

• medicine