remedy

American  

[rem-i-dee] / ˈrɛm ɪ di /

noun

remedies plural

1. something that cures or relieves a disease or bodily disorder; a healing medicine, application, or treatment.

   Synonyms:

   medication, medicament, specific, restorative, cure

2. something that corrects or removes an evil of any kind.

   Synonyms:

   antidote, corrective

3. Law. legal redress; the legal means of enforcing a right or redressing a wrong.

4. Coining. a certain allowance at the mint for deviation from the standard weight and fineness of coins; tolerance.

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verb (used with object)

remedies, present (3rd person singular) remedied, past participle, past remedying present participle

1. to cure, relieve, or heal.

   Antonyms:

   worsen

2. to restore to the natural or proper condition; put right.

   to remedy a matter.

   Synonyms:

   renew, redress, correct, repair

3. to counteract or remove.

   to remedy an evil.

remedy British  

/ rɪˈmiːdɪəbəl, ˈrɛmɪdɪ /

noun

1. any drug or agent that cures a disease or controls its symptoms

2. anything that serves to put a fault to rights, cure defects, improve conditions, etc

   a remedy for industrial disputes

3. the legally permitted variation from the standard weight or quality of coins; tolerance

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verb

1. to relieve or cure (a disease, illness, etc) by or as if by a remedy

2. to put to rights (a fault, error, etc); correct

Synonym Usage

See cure.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonremedy
  noun
• remediable
  adjective
• remediless
  adjective
• unremedied
  adjective
• remediably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• remedies
  plural

Participles

• remedying
  present
• remedied
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• remedy
  simple
• remedies
  simple
• have remedied
  perfect
• has remedied
  perfect
• am remedying
  progressive
• are remedying
  progressive
• is remedying
  progressive
• have been remedying
  perfect progressive
• has been remedying
  perfect progressive

Past

• remedied
  simple
• had remedied
  perfect
• was remedying
  progressive
• were remedying
  progressive
• had been remedying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will remedy
  simple
• will have remedied
  perfect
• will be remedying
  progressive
• will have been remedying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of remedy

First recorded in 1175–1225; (for the noun) Middle English remedie, from Anglo-French, from Latin remedium, from re- re- + med(ērī) “to heal” ( cf. medical) + -ium -ium; (for the verb) late Middle English remedien, from Middle French remedier, from Latin remediāre, derivative of remedium

Explanation

A remedy is something that relieves or cures a problem or illness. Aloe vera is a common remedy for sunburn. If you're having trouble sleeping, the first remedy you might try is a hot bath and a cup of chamomile tea. If that doesn't help, you may resort to something stronger, like a sedative. If a streetlight shining in your window is part of the problem, you can remedy the situation with some room-darkening shades. But if it's your upstairs neighbors and their all-night partying that's keeping you awake, you may have to consider a legal remedy.

Example Sentences

The court "misunderstands FIFRA's requirement, misinterprets the scope of FIFRA's preemption and ultimately leaves Durness without a remedy for the significant harms he has suffered."

From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026

The U.S. possesses many tools to remedy practices that distort trade and undermine reciprocity.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026

Mercedes have looked into the legal complications around this and concluded there is no remedy for that available to them.

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026

When the opera company requested the Kennedy Center remedy the issue, center officials asked to sever ties.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026

I think of Hamlet’s despair, which was beyond my remedy.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

Related Words

• antidote
• countermeasure
• cure-all
• drug
• fix
• medicine
• panacea
• pill
• quick fix
• redress
• relief
• therapy
• treatment