therapeutic
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
of or relating to the treatment of disease; curative
-
serving or performed to maintain health
therapeutic abortion
Other Word Forms
- nontherapeutic adjective
- nontherapeutical adjective
- nontherapeutically adverb
- therapeutically adverb
- untherapeutic adjective
- untherapeutical adjective
- untherapeutically adverb
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
This Week in Words: March 3 – 9, 2018
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National Nurses Week: Common Medical Terms
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Vocabulary from Academy Award Nominees and Winners
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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.
Peptide drugs, on the other hand, are manufactured to last longer in the body to create a therapeutic response, such as controlling appetite or promoting the growth of new blood vessels, bone density or muscle.
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026
Get Go is a homage to London, with snatches of pirate radio and a crisp two-step beat, articulating a story about the therapeutic feeling of dancing with strangers.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
The partnership is the latest in a string of tie-ups between pharma majors and Chinese companies, and grants Lilly exclusive worldwide rights to a portfolio of programs across multiple therapeutic areas.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
A review paper from a few years ago describes klotho protein as a “potential therapeutic target.”
From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026
Even therapeutic measures have the important result not only of curing the patient but of reducing the foci of infection.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
