pharmaceutical

1 of 2

adjective

phar·​ma·​ceu·​ti·​cal ˌfär-mə-ˈsü-ti-kəl How to pronounce pharmaceutical (audio)
: of, relating to, or engaged in pharmacy or the manufacture and sale of pharmaceuticals
a pharmaceutical company
pharmaceutically adverb

pharmaceutical

2 of 2

noun

: a medicinal drug

Examples of pharmaceutical in a Sentence

Adjective lobbyists from the pharmaceutical industry Noun some pharmaceuticals can be quite risky unless taken correctly
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Traditional cannabis consumption methods, such as smoking, are not suitable for pharmaceutical use due to concerns about dose control and delivery. Calvin Rasode, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2024 Abu Odeh had to chase after overwhelmed doctors, and try to care for her son based on her pharmaceutical training. Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2024 Through her father, Sole-Smith belongs to the family that founded H.D. Smith, a national pharmaceutical wholesaler acquired in 2018 by AmerisourceBergen. Lisa Miller, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024 Pryor also took on pharmaceutical firms that were making hefty profits from government contracts. Frank E. Lockwood, arkansasonline.com, 20 Apr. 2024 The traditional anchors would be pharmaceutical, bio and life sciences, tech and telecom and then increasingly, fin-tech. Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 20 Apr. 2024 The test results are eye-opening and meaningful, said Bruce Blumberg, a professor of developmental cell biology, and pharmaceutical sciences at UC Irvine. Scott Schwebke, Orange County Register, 19 Apr. 2024 The company’s pharmaceutical unit faired a little better reaching $13.7 billion in sales, slightly outperforming analysts’ expectations of $13.4 billion. Bruce Gil, Quartz, 16 Apr. 2024 Courtney’s insurance company agreed to pay $35 million to victims, and two pharmaceutical makers paid $71 million in settlements. Katie Moore, Kansas City Star, 16 Apr. 2024
Noun
China’s commerce minister met with top global executives from technology, finance and pharmaceutical industries ahead of a high-profile business forum in Beijing, in an attempt to boost slowing foreign investment amid geopolitical tensions. Bloomberg, Fortune Asia, 23 Mar. 2024 Since around that time, the DOJ and FTC have successfully broken up deals in the airline, pharmaceutical and hospitality industries — securing guilty pleas in criminal monopolization cases along the way. Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024 The company was best known then for manufacturing chemicals, including chlorine, as well as using chemicals in making plastics, pharmaceuticals and supermarket goods like Saran Wrap, Fantastik cleaning liquid and Ziploc bags. Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024 Furthermore, the medical and pharmaceutical industries are also attempting to tackle this issue with billions of dollars of investment in therapeutics. Sai Balasubramanian, M.d., J.d., Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024 According to Kobayashi's website, the company is working to increase sales of six brands including OTC pharmaceuticals in the U.S., China and Southeast Asia. Kate Gibson, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2024 The slightly slimy ocean vegetable also is used to make a number of human products including shampoo, toothpaste, pharmaceuticals and food. Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Mar. 2024 To get off of this track of pharmaceuticals for pain. Julie Tremaine, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024 Since then, the country’s low corporate tax rate has lured large multinational tech and pharmaceutical firms to its shores, and their payments to the government have bolstered revenue substantially. Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pharmaceutical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Late Latin pharmaceuticus, from Greek pharmakeutikos, from pharmakeuein to administer drugs — more at pharmacy

First Known Use

Adjective

1636, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1829, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pharmaceutical was in 1636

Dictionary Entries Near pharmaceutical

Cite this Entry

“Pharmaceutical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pharmaceutical. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

pharmaceutical

1 of 2 adjective
phar·​ma·​ceu·​ti·​cal ˌfär-mə-ˈsüt-i-kəl How to pronounce pharmaceutical (audio)
: of, relating to, or involved in pharmacy or the manufacture and sale of medicinal drugs
a pharmaceutical company
pharmaceutically adverb

pharmaceutical

2 of 2 noun
: a drug or preparation used in medicine

Medical Definition

pharmaceutical

1 of 2 adjective
phar·​ma·​ceu·​ti·​cal ˌfär-mə-ˈsüt-i-kəl How to pronounce pharmaceutical (audio)
variants also pharmaceutic
: of, relating to, or engaged in pharmacy or the manufacture and sale of pharmaceuticals
a pharmaceutical company
pharmaceutically adverb

pharmaceutical

2 of 2 noun
variants also pharmaceutic
: a medicinal drug
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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