treatment
Americannoun
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an act or manner of treating.
- Synonyms:
- approach, conduct, management, handling
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action or behavior toward a person, animal, etc.
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management in the application of medicines, surgery, etc.
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literary or artistic handling, especially with reference to style.
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subjection to some agent or action.
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Movies, Television. a preliminary outline of a film or teleplay laying out the key scenes, characters, and locales.
noun
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the application of medicines, surgery, psychotherapy, etc, to a patient or to a disease or symptom
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the manner of handling or dealing with a person or thing, as in a literary or artistic work
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the act, practice, or manner of treating
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films an expansion of a script into sequence form, indicating camera angles, dialogue, etc
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slang the usual manner of dealing with a particular type of person (esp in the phrase give someone the ( full ) treatment )
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of treatment
Explanation
Treatment has to do with how someone or something is managed or handled. Hopefully you get the royal treatment when you choose the deluxe pedicure treatment! You know how some people treat you with respect but others don't treat you so nicely? You can refer to how people act toward you as treatment. If a restaurant is known for rude treatment of customers, people will stop going there. Doctors also use the word treatment when they discuss a particular medical course of action — such as chemotherapy as a treatment for cancer. The root word is the Latin tractare, which originally meant "drag about," but came to mean "manage, handle, or deal with."
Vocabulary lists containing treatment
Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
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"Water at Work"
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Lessons 4–5
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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.
Researchers emphasize that larger studies are still needed before immunotherapy could become a standard depression treatment.
From Science Daily • May 28, 2026
The patient, medical missionary Peter Stafford, is responding well to treatment, the Charite Hospital in Berlin said Wednesday.
From Barron's • May 27, 2026
Bondi, 60, told CBS she is undergoing treatment, which included surgery a few weeks ago.
From BBC • May 27, 2026
In the past, scientists found drugs that lowered levels of the particle a moderate amount but failed to reduce heart attacks and strokes in research studies, leaving patients with no approved treatment.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026
Strange treatment of the precious bones from her daughters’ first spirit friend.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
