therapeutic
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to the treating or curing of disease; curative.
noun
-
a therapeutic substance.
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
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.
In “Our Diaries, Ourselves,” the Chicago-based journalist offers tidbits from her daybooks while exploring the history, practices and therapeutic promise of what she has come to call Diary-land.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
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
Again, not a word about the coercive therapeutic context in which vulnerable minors will be subjected to those “ideas” and pressed to implement them.
From Slate • Apr. 3, 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 media tend to present each new procedure as though it represented a breakthrough and therapeutic triumph, instead of the makeshift that it really is.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.