pharmaceutical

1 of 2

adjective

phar·​ma·​ceu·​ti·​cal ˌfär-mə-ˈsü-ti-kəl 

: of, relating to, or engaged in pharmacy or the manufacture and sale of pharmaceuticals

a pharmaceutical company

pharmaceutically

ˌfär-mə-ˈsü-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

pharmaceutical

2 of 2

noun

: a medicinal drug

Synonyms

Noun

• cure
• drug
• medicament
• medication
• medicinal
• medicine
• physic
• remedy
• specific

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

After the divorce, her mother, Joan, moved Akil and her two siblings from the Baldwin Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles to Kansas City, where Joan worked her way up from being a secretary to a computer programmer for a pharmaceutical company. —Jazmine Hughes, Vulture, 2 May 2025

The pharmaceutical giant now expects its adjusted fiscal 2025 earnings to come in between $20.78 and $22.28 per share, down from previous guidance of $22.50 to $24 per share. —Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 1 May 2025

Noun

Since Trump launched the trade war against China during his first term, the U.S. has sought to decrease its reliance on the manufacturing powerhouse, which has considerable control over key supply chains from pharmaceuticals to minerals critical to defense technologies as well as consumer goods. —Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Apr. 2025

In the story an antidepressant pharmaceutical company accidentally creates a love virus. —Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 21 Apr. 2025

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

Rhymes for pharmaceutical

• hermeneutical
• cuticle
• radiopharmaceutical

Kids Definition

pharmaceutical

1 of 2 adjective

phar·​ma·​ceu·​ti·​cal ˌfär-mə-ˈsüt-i-kəl 

: of, relating to, or involved in pharmacy or the manufacture and sale of medicinal drugs

a pharmaceutical company

pharmaceutically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

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 

variants also pharmaceutic

-ˈsüt-ik 

: of, relating to, or engaged in pharmacy or the manufacture and sale of pharmaceuticals

a pharmaceutical company

pharmaceutically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

pharmaceutical

2 of 2 noun

variants also pharmaceutic

: a medicinal drug