palliative

adjective

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pal·li·a·tive | \ ˈpa-lē-ˌā-tiv

, ˈpal-yə-

Definition of palliative

(Entry 1 of 2)

: serving to palliate palliative surgery palliative care palliative drugs

palliative

noun

Definition of palliative (Entry 2 of 2)

: something that palliates

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Examples of palliative in a Sentence

Noun The disease has no cure, but a number of palliatives exist. Travel is like a palliative against depression for him. symbolic palliatives for inner-city troubles

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Some, including those in palliative care being administered strong medications, suffer from uncontrollable muscle jerks. — Washington Post, "A mysterious, devastating brain disorder is afflicting dozens in one Canadian province," 12 May 2021 Morrow, the University palliative care physician, knows that crisis standards of care are controversial. — Lauren Caruba, ExpressNews.com, "Hospitals full. Thousands infected with coronavirus each week. San Antonio pays the price for failing to flatten the curve.," 16 Jan. 2021 The firm’s reluctance may reflect a larger unease with employing right-to-try laws to speed use of psilocybin, said Dr. Anthony Back, a palliative care physician at the University of Washington. — Kaiser Health News, oregonlive, "Psychedelic mushrooms at center of effort to help dying patients," 29 Nov. 2020 As The New York Times notes, Madoff was reportedly suffering from kidney disease and had requested an early release from prison last year after being admitted to palliative care. — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, "Bernie Madoff, World Record Holder for Biggest Ponzi Scheme, Dead at 82," 14 Apr. 2021 If baseball is said to be dying, Larry Lucchino and the team’s other owners are not yet ready to call in the palliative care. — BostonGlobe.com, "Is this heaven? No, it’s Worcester," 14 Apr. 2021 But that is to ignore the tender science of palliative care. — Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review, "We Can Do Better Than More Suicide," 29 Mar. 2021 Physicians’ reticence to institute palliative care is compounded by misunderstanding. — Mireille Jacobson, STAT, "Palliative care works, so why is it rarely used? Follow the money," 24 Mar. 2021 Many elders died alone, without family or friends, and often without palliative care. — Madhukar Pai, Forbes, "A Prescription To Reform Canada’s Broken Eldercare System," 18 Mar. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Eventually, knitting came to seem value-neutral, a kind of personal palliative. — Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, "How Politics Tested Ravelry and the Crafting Community," 22 Mar. 2021 Getting outdoors has never been more important—as a pastime, but also as a palliative for our mental and physical woes. — Matt Bean, Sunset Magazine, "10 Best Outdoor Gear Innovations of 2020," 27 Oct. 2020 These are palliative treatments, and sometimes therapeutic, but my SSRIs are essential. — Stuart Leach, Washington Post, "He just wanted a new prescription. He ended up in the psych ward instead.," 25 Mar. 2018 Giving their all Heather Martin is a nurse practitioner working with Goodenough on Methodist's palliative care team, working with patients and their families to create care and quality-of-life planning. — Holly V. Hays, Indianapolis Star, "A chaplain listened to family of a coronavirus victim sob through the phone. Then he wept.," 22 Apr. 2020 Under the triage criteria, which the Alabama Department of Public Health initially drafted in 2009, many patients could be denied access to ventilators and instead relegated to in-patient or home palliative care. — Connor Sheets | Csheets@al.com, al, "‘Last resort’: Alabama’s plan for deciding which coronavirus patients get ventilators," 24 Mar. 2020 In any given moment, one woman’s palliative might be another’s saccharine TV toothache. — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, "Why You Can’t Stop Streaming Seinfeld. Or Frasier. Or Bones.," 22 Mar. 2020 His route to providing palliative care was a circuitous one. — Jiayang Fan, The New Yorker, "China’s Struggles with Hospice Care," 30 Mar. 2020 Razzak said his institution is training other health staff to deliver palliative care. — Liz Szabo, USA TODAY, "Shortage of palliative care in the US could amplify suffering for coronavirus patients," 26 Mar. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'palliative.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

14 May 2021

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“Palliative.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/palliative. Accessed 14 May. 2021.

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More Definitions for palliative

palliative

noun

English Language Learners Definition of palliative

medical : something that reduces the effects or symptoms of a medical condition without curing it

formal : something that is intended to make a bad situation seem better but that does not really improve the situation

See the full definition for palliative in the English Language Learners Dictionary

palliative

adjective

pal·lia·tive | \ ˈpal-ē-ˌāt-iv

, ˈpal-yət-

Medical Definition of palliative

(Entry 1 of 2)

: reducing the severity of a disease or condition without curing it : providing palliative care palliative treatment Although valve replacement is an important advance in the treatment of patients with valve disease, it is a palliative rather than a curative procedure.— Robert A. O'Rourke, The Journal of the American Medical Association, 13 Aug. 1982

palliative

noun

Medical Definition of palliative (Entry 2 of 2)

: something that reduces the severity of a disease or condition without curing it