palliative

adjective pal·li·a·tive \ ˈpa-lē-ˌā-tiv , ˈpal-yə- \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of palliative

: serving to palliate

palliative surgery

palliative care

palliative drugs

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palliatively

adverb

See palliative defined for kids

Recent Examples of palliative from the Web

But 5% of heart failure remains refractory to medical treatment, and in these patients palliative care has been shown to improve patient satisfaction and decrease costs.

— marc siegel, WSJ, "Barbara Bush Faces Death With Courage," 16 Apr. 2018
Her voice is pleasingly scratchy, with a low hum underneath—the auditory equivalent of a palliative scalp massage.

— caity weaver, GQ, "There's Something Funny About Tiffany Haddish," 26 Mar. 2018
British doctors with the National Health Service gave her up to a year to live and offered only palliative care with chemotherapy.

— lindsay gellman, Longreads, "The Last Resort," 22 Mar. 2018
While there is a clear distinction between MCI and dementia, according to Dr. Bruce Troen, chief of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the University at Buffalo Medical School there is a 3-fold increase in risk for dementia among those with MCI.

— joseph frankel, Newsweek, "Exercise to Improve Memory and Slow Dementia, New Recommendations Say," 28 Dec. 2017
The restrictions wouldn’t apply to patients suffering pain related to cancer, terminal illness, palliative care or serious traumatic injuries.

— orlando sentinel, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Florida House OKs opioid prescription limits," 1 Mar. 2018
The new algorithm can predict if a hospital inpatient will die within 3 to 12 months (a window during which palliative care is thought to be most useful) with over 90 percent accuracy.

— NBC News, "AI can predict when we'll die — here's why that's a good thing," 3 Feb. 2018
Exceptions would exist for palliative cancer treatment or hospice care patients with chronic pain.

— jonathan mattise, The Seattle Times, "Tennessee governor touts $30M plan to fight opioid epidemic," 22 Jan. 2018
Hospice and palliative medicine is the medical specialty dedicated to improving quality of life and relieving pain and other symptoms in patients who are seriously ill.

— megan becka, cleveland.com, "Akron Children's Hospital's Dr. Sarah Friebert named palliative medicine 'visionary'," 12 Dec. 2017

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.

First Known Use of palliative

15th century

Other Medicine Terms

analgesia, angina, diabetes, hepatitis, homeopathy, logorrhea, palliate, pandemic

palliative

noun

Definition of palliative

: something that palliates

See palliative defined for English-language learners

Examples of palliative in a Sentence

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 of palliative from the Web

In fact, the growth of palliative care and hospice is one of the most significant movements in recent years.

— guest columnist/cleveland.com, cleveland.com, "Hospice and palliative experts extend family doctor's care at end of life: Dr. Walter George (Opinion)," 15 Apr. 2018
Choosing palliative care felt to Kate like giving up.

— lindsay gellman, Longreads, "The Last Resort," 22 Mar. 2018
Critics say they are concerned that the option will lead to hasty decisions, misdiagnoses and waning support for palliative care, in which dying people can be sedated to relieve suffering.

— Washington Post, "Doctor-assisted suicide close to becoming law in Hawaii," 31 Mar. 2018
Weaver's first bill would create a task force that would help the Department of Public Health develop a form for a palliative and end of life care order for minors.

— mike cason, AL.com, "Alabama House passes Alex Hoover bills for terminally ill students," 27 Feb. 2018
Horan now lives in palliative care, which means there is little doctors can do for him following his eight heart attacks, but that does not keep him from having a positive attitude on life and a great sense of humor.

— tracy maness, Houston Chronicle, "Mr. Irish: St. Patrick's Day is for all," 12 Mar. 2018
Watching vets choose to endure their pain can be hard for families, as well as for palliative care doctors and nurses.

— april dembosky, Washington Post, "Reverberations From War Complicate Vietnam Veterans’ End-Of-Life Care," 7 Mar. 2018
Weaver's second bill calls for development of palliative and end of life individual health plans for terminally ill children in school.

— mike cason, AL.com, "Alabama House passes Alex Hoover bills for terminally ill students," 27 Feb. 2018
Their conditions worsened, and by early 2016, each was receiving palliative care.

— mark ellwood, Condé Nast Traveler, "I Married Someone I Met on Vacation," 12 Feb. 2018

First Known Use of palliative

1656

Other Medicine Terms

analgesia, angina, diabetes, hepatitis, homeopathy, logorrhea, palliate, pandemic

PALLIATIVE Defined for English Language Learners

palliative

noun

Definition of palliative for English Language Learners

medical : something that reduces the effects or symptoms of a medical condition without curing it
: something that is intended to make a bad situation seem better but that does not really improve the situation

Medical Dictionary

palliative

adjective pal·lia·tive \ ˈpal-ē-ˌāt-iv , ˈpal-yət- \

medical Definition of palliative

: 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

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