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vermifuge

American  
[vur-muh-fyooj] / ˈvɜr məˌfyudʒ /

adjective

  1. serving to expel worms or other animal parasites from the intestines, as a medicine.


noun

  1. a vermifuge medicine or agent.

vermifuge British  
/ ˌvɜːmɪˈfjuːɡəl, ˈvɜːmɪˌfjuːdʒ /

noun

  1. any drug or agent able to destroy or expel intestinal worms; an anthelmintic

"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

Other Word Forms

  • vermifugal adjective

Etymology

Origin of vermifuge

First recorded in 1690–1700; vermi- + -fuge

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.

He remembered hearing that vermifuge cures dogs of the "fits" and he saw no reason why it should not work on humans.

From Time Magazine Archive

In a dingy courtroom stinking of vermifuge, at Mays Landing, N. J., last week, two petty criminals stood before the bar of justice.

From Time Magazine Archive

Cowhage, kow′āj, n. the hairs of the pods of a tropical climbing plant of the bean family, administered as a mechanical vermifuge, the pods themselves or the plant.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

He had voided several by Stool, after taking some vermifuge Medicines.

From Advice to the people in general, with regard to their health by Tissot, S. A. D. (Samuel Auguste David)

Rafinesque.—Powerful anti-spasmodic, expectorant, incisive, vermifuge, menagogue, sudorific, etc.

From New, Old, and Forgotten Remedies: Papers by Many Writers by Anshutz, Edward Pollock