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Synonyms

heal

American

[heel] / hil /

verb (used with object)

to make healthy, whole, or sound; restore to health; free from ailment.

Antonyms:

irritate
to bring to an end or conclusion, as conflicts between people or groups, usually with the strong implication of restoring former amity; settle; reconcile.

They tried to heal the rift between them but were unsuccessful.

Synonyms:

soothe, compose

Antonyms:

irritate
to free from evil; cleanse; purify.

to heal the soul.

Synonyms:

disinfect, purge

Antonyms:

infect, soil

verb (used without object)

to effect a cure.
(of a wound, broken bone, etc.) to become whole or sound; mend; get well (often followed by up orover ).

noun

(in a video game) a category of spell that restores the health of a player character.

I thought the party was gonna wipe, but a clutch heal saved our Monk and he finished off the boss alone.

heal British

/ hiːl /

verb

to restore or be restored to health
(intr; often foll by over or up) (of a wound, burn, etc) to repair by natural processes, as by scar formation
(tr)
1. to treat (a wound, etc) by assisting in its natural repair
2. to cure (a disease or disorder)
to restore or be restored to friendly relations, harmony, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Synonym Usage

See cure.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of heal

First recorded before 900; Middle English helen, Old English hǣlan (cognate with Dutch helen, German heilen, Old Norse heila, Gothic hailjan ), derivative of hāl hale ¹, whole

Explanation

To heal is to recover or become healthy again. You'll need to wait until your blisters heal before you put your hiking boots back on and climb Mt. Everest. They say time can heal, or cure, a broken heart, while you can be sure that rest, an ice pack, and propping your foot up will heal your twisted ankle. The Proto-Germanic word khailaz, which means "to make whole" is the root of both heal and the closely related word health. Don't confuse heal with heel, which is the back part of your foot or the command that makes a dog stop.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

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:

heal heals healed healing

The good news is that researchers are developing therapies that do what was once thought impossible: regenerate cartilage, boost the knee’s natural ability to heal, and prevent cartilage breakdown in the first place.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

Maybe Elizabeth Holmes can still heal the world, after all.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

For many in the community of Sharpeville, there is hope that restitution will help heal decades of lingering trauma.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

"I believe that only then will we be able to begin to heal and move forward -- not as adversaries, but as human beings and as peoples equal in dignity."

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

They had survived the unimaginable, as had three of their children, but the war ripped a hole in their hearts that would never heal.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

Time will move on, and I would say that time heals things.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

If I could boil my formula for the future of dementia care into two words, it would be this: Hope heals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

“And you have to give space for it because you can’t make it go away. ... They always say time heals, but time makes everything just a little less intense.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026

From there, activists could demand almost whatever they want: action on climate change, an end to mass surveillance and ICE raids, or an equitable health system that heals instead of mangles.

From Salon ● Dec. 11, 2025

“And if it heals properly we’ll surprise her with the good news.”

From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos

The fact that these injuries healed successfully provides another clue about royal life.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

"If those wounds are not healed it can have a really detrimental impact, not only on the people concerned but also on the reputation of the institution."

From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026

But some of those divides are more easily healed than others.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

The petition was started by TVP federation chair Aileen O'Connor who said the decision to consider the killers for early release "pours salt into wounds that have never healed".

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

The Titan had healed a bad wound on Percy’s shoulder just by touching it.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

"We know that this week will be one where we will feel both grief and sadness when looking back on that past, and also where hope is possible as we work towards reconciliation and healing."

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Sharing stories with the next generation is vital, healing and resilient.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

That should help with the healing of Ohtani’s battered body: knee, arm, neck, hip.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

The result indicated that these immune cells were playing an important role in the healing response.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

Now Mother said that healing was spiritual and limitless.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023