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
AstraZeneca’s decision is a major win for Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups that have been pressing for radical change in the pharmaceutical industry. Matt Novak / Gizmodo, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024 But pharmaceutical giant Moderna is way ahead of the curve. Paige McGlauflin, Fortune, 18 Mar. 2024 In a setback to the pharmaceutical industry, a U.S. appeals court has upheld an Arkansas law that allows hospitals participating in a controversial federal discount program to ship medicines to certain pharmacies. Ed Silverman, STAT, 13 Mar. 2024 The pharmaceutical industry specifically seeks to block a new law that enables Medicare to negotiate the price of select drugs under its prescription benefit, known as Part D. Tony Romm, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024 The federal government is negotiating this week with pharmaceutical companies on the prices of the first 10 drugs, and companies are expected to submit counteroffers soon. Bo Erickson, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2024 About half of unmarried people under 30 in Japan are uninterested in having children, a survey by a pharmaceutical firm showed. USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2024 Many plaintiffs have never lived in the state, and the pharmaceutical company’s U.S. headquarters are in Rahway, New Jersey. Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 8 Mar. 2024 The pharmaceutical industry’s all-out attack on President Biden’s drug negotiation initiative for Medicare — comprising nine federal lawsuits (so far) and lots of heavy breathing by lobbyists — has just run into a major snag. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024
Noun
These reductions are expected to occur on May 6. — Catalent, a pharmaceuticals company, is cutting 90 jobs in South San Francisco. George Avalos, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 The trust is linked to the G.D. Searle pharmaceutical company, which makes some of America’s most common medicines like Ambien and Dramamine. Aj Willingham, CNN, 4 Mar. 2024 The company reported a 4% rise in Innovative Medicine (pharmaceuticals business) and a 13% growth for its MedTech (medical devices business). Trefis Team, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 Major pharmaceutical companies — Moderna, Biogen and Vertex — have their headquarters in the area, and universities like Harvard and MIT bolster the science sector even more. Rachel Siegel, Washington Post, 20 Feb. 2024 Without pharmaceuticals, the agency says, the country’s GDP would have instead fallen 0.1%. Bruce Gil, Quartz, 20 Feb. 2024 And to quickly boost resilience in its pharmaceutical supply, the United States need not look further than the Western Hemisphere. Shannon K. O’Neil, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 Read more: Australia is showing us what happens when Tesla-beating BYD faces no tariffs and is free to grow The investigation is part of a broader EU effort to protect supply lines and bring production closer to home, particularly in key sectors like semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. Jorge Valero, Fortune, 7 Mar. 2024 Over four hours, the debate spanned most of the substantive issues that pharmaceutical companies and their allies have raised across the country, both in constitutional challenges to the law and in challenges to how Medicare officials have interpreted the law so far. Rachel Cohrs, STAT, 7 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 Mar. 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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