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:
Piqued, Burkina's military ruler Ibrahim Traore complained the country's football was "in a sorry state" and threatened "significant decisions" to "remedy it".
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Both parties are trying to remedy mistakes of elections past in the hopes of winning over the Gen Z vote, launching targeted recruitment efforts, hiring more young people and leaning into social media.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
If inflation stays elevated and the Fed sees tighter policy as the only remedy, Morgan Stanley’s Gapen said, the likely channel is falling asset prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
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
While we wait for the food to cook, Mom adds in lessons on love and tells Maxine the remedy to a broken heart.
From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson
The company said Alunorte is also seeking legal remedies and other measures to protect its contractual rights and interests under the existing gas supply agreement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Luckily, those diseases can be cured by antibiotics or other remedies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
Later, he published a science-fiction novel, called “Darkome,” where AI bioengineering has enabled biological attacks and characters use genetic technology to develop remedies for cancer and other diseases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
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
Simple remedies for dire situations, that’s the lesson.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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
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
The department hopes those with an interest in how the site can be remedied will respond to the consultation.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2025
She insulted and encouraged, pushed and poked, brewed and stewed and remedied.
From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman
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
It’s the easy way out — and remedying wrongs is never easy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 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
Fizz is prone to remedying me and would invariably seek the answer to my “problem.”
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
