remedy
Americannoun
-
remedies
plural
-
something that cures or relieves a disease or bodily disorder; a healing medicine, application, or treatment.
- Synonyms:
- medication, medicament, specific, restorative, cure
-
something that corrects or removes an evil of any kind.
- Synonyms:
- antidote, corrective
-
Law. legal redress; the legal means of enforcing a right or redressing a wrong.
-
Coining. a certain allowance at the mint for deviation from the standard weight and fineness of coins; tolerance.
verb (used with object)
-
remedies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
remedied,
past participle, past
-
remedying
present participle
noun
-
any drug or agent that cures a disease or controls its symptoms
-
anything that serves to put a fault to rights, cure defects, improve conditions, etc
a remedy for industrial disputes
-
the legally permitted variation from the standard weight or quality of coins; tolerance
verb
-
to relieve or cure (a disease, illness, etc) by or as if by a remedy
-
to put to rights (a fault, error, etc); correct
Synonym Usage
See cure.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
remedysimple
-
remediessimple
-
have remediedperfect
-
has remediedperfect
-
am remedyingprogressive
-
are remedyingprogressive
-
is remedyingprogressive
-
have been remedyingperfect progressive
-
has been remedyingperfect progressive
Past
-
remediedsimple
-
had remediedperfect
-
was remedyingprogressive
-
were remedyingprogressive
-
had been remedyingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing remedy
Vocabulary from Beyoncé's "Lemonade"
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act IV
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"The Hunger Games" Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Unified would benefit mightily from such funds — to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, but that infusion would not solve the district’s financial problems or remedy the enrollment decline.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
The possible remedy, however, could eventually have made the problem much worse.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
Craig said she was "really pleased" the government was looking at options about the way domestic abuse should be considered in financial remedy proceedings.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
“The investigation has been flawed from the outset,” Kelley wrote, saying he would explore “every legal remedy to address this gross injustice.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Mother’s usual summer remedy of sprinkling the sheets with refreshing cologne lasted only a minute.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
British Veterinary Association President Dr Rob Williams said veterinary practices were already largely working to the CMA's remedies, including the orders relating to complaints handling, price estimates for routine procedures and prescription costs.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Yet, a majority voted to permit their production, arguing with a straight face that having “regulated peptides” was somehow better than letting people buy unvetted black-market remedies.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
Consumers share tips on how to “sleepmaxx” on social media, recommending devices, from wearables to smart mattresses and alarm clocks, along with DIY remedies like “sleepy girl mocktail” concoctions containing magnesium.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
A broken car AC and soaring L.A. summer temperatures sent one writer on a search for cooling remedies and tonics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
One of the best and most efficacious remedies would be for the person who has taken possession of them to go there to live.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
The resulting racing inefficiencies can be remedied with market designs that slow the pace of trading, but more accurate clocks will not solve the underlying problem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Speaking at a news conference, Nasa's Lori Glaze said issues including with seals and filters had now been remedied.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
Every single person in that room revealed that they had dense breasts, which we thought could be remedied somehow through self-massage.
From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2026
"But we believe that we have remedied that," he added.
From Barron's ● Nov. 16, 2025
By being on the spot, troubles are seen at their birth and can be quickly remedied; not being there, they are heard about after they have grown up and there is no longer any remedy.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
The iOS 26.4 update improved keyboard accuracy by remedying the ghost-letter problem, but autocorrect issues persist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026
“This has been one of the holy grails of remedying the Korean discount, and there’s at least a 50-50 chance of it passing this year,” he says.
From Barron's ● Dec. 31, 2025
The truce extension will give more time for negotiations about "remedying trade imbalances" and "unfair trade practices", the White House said.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025
The electric vehicle company is remedying the issue by asking owners to update the vehicle’s software using a wireless network connection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2024
Fizz is prone to remedying me and would invariably seek the answer to my “problem.”
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
