therapeutic
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
of or relating to the treatment of disease; curative
-
serving or performed to maintain health
therapeutic abortion
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of therapeutic
1535–45; < New Latin therapeuticus < Greek therapeutikós, equivalent to therapeú ( ein ) to attend, treat medically (akin to therápōn attendant) + -tikos -tic
Explanation
Whether you’re talking about a therapeutic drug or a therapeutic exercise plan, something that is therapeutic helps to heal or to restore health. The adjective therapeutic can be traced all the way back to the Greek word therapeutikos (from therapeuein, meaning “to attend” or “to treat”). Although the word relates to healing or soothing, therapeutic isn’t reserved only for drugs or medical treatments. You’ve probably heard particular activities referred to as therapeutic, which just means that doing that activity makes you feel rejuvenated. You might consider shopping for shoes, for example, to be a therapeutic activity — at least until the credit card bill arrives.
Vocabulary lists containing therapeutic
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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.
"By revealing that this system is boosted by gut signaling from the vagus nerve, novel therapeutic targets could leverage this information to explore vagus nerve-based approaches, such as vagus nerve stimulation."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
Another company, Denteric, is developing a therapeutic vaccine designed to help patients who already have gum disease.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Biliary atresia is the leading cause of pediatric liver transplants and currently has no approved therapeutic options beyond surgery or liver transplant, Ipsen said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
A new class of American-developed drugs, oral biomimetic engineered cyclic peptides, or eCPs, can in some cases replicate the therapeutic function of an injected biologic in pill form without replicating its complex structure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
This suggested that phosphorus would be a better carrier of therapeutic radiation than radio-sodium, since the latter distributes itself all through the body as salt, attenuating its effect.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
