medicate

verb

med·​i·​cate ˈme-di-ˌkāt 

medicated; medicating

transitive verb

1

: to treat (someone or something) with or as if with medicine

medicate a condition

was medicated for pain/depression

… is happily living his life one day at a time since he stopped drinking and otherwise medicating himself …

—Charles Leerhsen

2

: to impregnate with a medicinal substance

medicated soap

Examples of medicate in a Sentence

The patient had been heavily medicated.

Recent Examples on the Web

The heart monitor showed a slight irregularity, but not an emergency, and my doctor wasn’t inclined to medicate something that minor. — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 24 Sep. 2026

The concern is accuracy while injured, medicated, or uncertain, not shaping a story. — Matthew Kayser, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2026

Episode 4 begins with Stuart confined to a mental health facility, where he’s heavily medicated and quietly judged by a psychiatrist who believes his visions of alternate universes are all in his head. — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Sep. 2026

The fish, having been medicated by this point, would have weakened immune systems unable to protect them against parasites. — John Donegan Long Beach Post, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin medicatus, past participle of medicare to heal, from medicus

First Known Use

circa 1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing medicate

• self-medicate

Rhymes for medicate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate
• angulate

Medical Definition

medicate

transitive verb

med·​i·​cate ˈmed-ə-ˌkāt 

medicated; medicating

1

: to treat medicinally

2

: to impregnate with a medicinal substance

medicated soap