pharmacology

noun

phar·ma·col·o·gy ˌfär-mə-ˈkä-lə-jē

: the science of drugs including their origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, therapeutic use, and toxicology

: the properties and reactions of drugs especially with relation to their therapeutic value

pharmacological

ˌfär-mə-kə-ˈlä-ji-kəl

adjective

or less commonly pharmacologic

ˌfär-mə-kə-ˈlä-jik

pharmacologically

ˌfär-mə-kə-ˈlä-ji-k(ə-)lē

adverb

pharmacologist

ˌfär-mə-ˈkä-lə-jist

noun

Example Sentences

We don't have a complete understanding of the new drug's pharmacology yet.

Recent Examples on the Web With advances in pharmacology, the time had come for an agency to inform the public about the differences between medicine and snake oil. —

Thomas R. Insel, STAT, 12 Apr. 2023 Phoebe Stapleton, an assistant professor in the department of toxicology and pharmacology at Rutgers University, led a team that placed extremely small nanoplastics in the lungs of rats and found that the particles migrated to the heart, placenta and fetal tissue. —

Peter Krouse, cleveland, 7 Aug. 2022 Her interest was in the sciences — first biology, then biochemistry and finally pharmacology, the study of how chemicals act on the human body. —

Nancy Kriplen, Discover Magazine, 5 Feb. 2017 His research focuses on pharmacology and toxicology. —

Brad Reisfeld, USA TODAY, 24 Apr. 2023 But few realized how relevant until 2014, when a professor of pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania named John Hogenesch published a paper with his colleagues showing that almost half of the genes in mice produce proteins on a 24-hour schedule. —

New York Times, 6 July 2022 Brain-dead patients have served as research subjects for decades – mainly for studies on toxicology, organ transplants, and pharmacology. —

Ben Thomas, Discover Magazine, 10 May 2016 Ibogaine's mysterious therapeutic qualities stem from the drug's complex pharmacology. —

Donna Sarkar, Discover Magazine, 26 July 2021 Certified dispensers must have a minimum two years of education or experience in biology, chemistry, pharmacology, medical cannabis, or a similar field. —

Mike Cason | Mcason@al.com, al, 23 Sep. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pharmacology.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.