medicinal
medicinal Lexical Profile
medicinal Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Having healing, curative, or therapeutic properties; used for the treatment or prevention of disease or pain.
"The botanical garden features a special section dedicated to medicinal herbs used in traditional remedies."
Resembling medicine in taste, smell, or effect, often in a sharp, bitter, or unpleasant way.
"The herbal tea had a strong, slightly bitter medicinal flavor that took some getting used to."
• noun
A substance, preparation, or plant possessing healing or therapeutic properties; a medicine or drug.
"The chemist specialized in extracting active compounds from natural botanical medicinals."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Medicinal' specifically means having healing or curative properties (e.g., medicinal herbs), whereas 'medical' refers more broadly to the practice, science, or profession of medicine (e.g., medical school).
• Rhymes for medicinal
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 14th century from Old French medicinal and directly from Latin medicinalis ('pertaining to medicine'), derived from medicina ('the healing art, a remedy'), from medicus ('physician').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.