remedy

noun rem·e·dy \ ˈre-mə-dē \

Definition of remedy

plural remedies

1 :a medicine, application, or treatment that relieves or cures a disease

2 :something that corrects or counteracts

3 :the legal means to recover a right or to prevent or obtain redress for a wrong

—

remediless

adjective

See remedy defined for English-language learners

See remedy defined for kids

Examples of remedy in a Sentence

Building more roads isn't always the best remedy for traffic congestion.
The problem was beyond remedy.
She was left without remedy since the court did not recognize her claim.

Recent Examples of remedy from the Web

Far better to exhaust the lawful remedies before anyone starts calling for soft, much less hard, coups.

— david a. graham, The Atlantic, "The Search for a Magical Way to Stop Trump," 14 Aug. 2017
Pickle Juice: Prevent a hangover headache by sipping 1/4 cup of this Polish folk remedy before bed.

— helen zook, Cosmopolitan, "12 Easy Food Fixes for Every Health Issue," 13 Aug. 2017
What about the poverty program, does that offer any remedy?

— esquire editors, Esquire, "James Baldwin: How to Cool It," 2 Aug. 2017
In addition, under chapter 19 of the agreement, disputes between NAFTA partners over other remedies go to a NAFTA court.

— The Economist, "The outlines of NAFTA 2 emerge," 20 July 2017
Sephora began carrying the product the following year, and a SuperMud mask for problem skin, created in 2013 after American Idol contestants asked for pimple remedies, is still one of the company’s top-selling facial masks.

— ingrid schmidt, Los Angeles Magazine, "How GlamGlow Spun Mud Into Gold," 14 July 2017
Obama then rattled off a series of relativist, on-the-one-hand and on-the-other-hand, split-the-difference remedies to the current tensions with radical Islamism (all couched in vague euphemisms).

— victor davis hanson, National Review, "Trump’s Anti-Cairo Speech," 11 July 2017
One remedy for the sporadic adjustments of your camera is to put it at ease.

— AL.com, "How to take awesome photos of fireworks with your phone," 3 July 2017
Much of the stories and features in the Farmers' Almanac tout natural remedies, recycling ideas and suggestions on how to stop wasting food — things that folks buying almanacs two centuries ago wanted to read too.

— meg jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Photos: Farmers' Almanac still relevant in digital world," 1 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of remedy

Middle English remedie, from Anglo-French, from Latin remedium, from re- + mederi to heal — more at medical

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

remedy Synonyms

Synonyms

cure, drug, medicament, medication, medicinal, pharmaceutical, physic, medicine, specific

Other Pharmacology Terms

anodyne, cathartic, emetic, emollient, liniment, paregoric, poultice, purgative, soporific, spectrum

remedy

verb

Definition of remedy

remedied; remedying

transitive verb

:to provide or serve as a remedy for :relieve

remedy a social evil

See remedy defined for English-language learners

Examples of remedy in a Sentence

Something must be done to remedy the problem.
The conflict can be remedied by scheduling the meeting for next week.

Recent Examples of remedy from the Web

But the shadowy leader said his movement does not intend to start a fourth war with Israel, instead preferring to remedy dire living conditions in the impoverished coastal enclave.

— josef federman, The Seattle Times, "New Hamas leader says it is getting aid again from Iran," 28 Aug. 2017
So to remedy that problem, my girls’ night out will be on the deck just off our kitchen.

— mary carol garrity, kansascity, "Beautiful tablescape is the centerpiece of an alfresco dinner party," 25 Aug. 2017
Legal Action Center, working with the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, called on Aetna to cease and desist the mailings and to remedy the mistake.

— erin mershon, Fortune, "HIV Status of Thousands Revealed on Envelopes Mailed by Aetna," 24 Aug. 2017
And yet, at the same time, his skills and experience have put him in a rare position to remedy so much of what ails us.

— nick bilton, The Hive, "Mark Zuckerberg’s Political Ambitions Are Grander Than You Think," 8 Aug. 2017
The unexcused absences triggered a letter from the DA's office, signed by Carr, which usually prompts parents to remedy the absentee or behavioral issue.

— roy s. johnson, AL.com, "Want to boost students' success, Gov. Ivey? Fund this program," 28 July 2017
The Trump commission is the fourth blue-ribbon inquiry in the last 17 years into what went wrong in a general election and how to remedy those problems.

— michael wines, Alaska Dispatch News, "Under fire as it begins, Trump’s voter fraud panel meets," 20 July 2017
The hack was detected the afternoon of June 25, and the website was taken offline as the county worked with its site host to remedy the security breach; the site was running normally by 9:45 a.m. the next day.

— kate magill, Howard County Times, "After web attack, Howard County orders security audit," 19 July 2017
Eventually, Cincinnati cops began to tackle hot spots—not through sweeps but by removing or remedying the conditions that facilitated crime.

— maya dukmasova, Chicago Reader, "News / Criminal Justice For federal oversight of police reform to work, pressure from the community must continue," 26 June 2017

First Known Use of remedy

15th century

remedy Synonyms

Synonyms

heal, mend, cure

Related Words

allay, alleviate, assuage, relieve; palliate, salve, soothe; ease, lighten, moderate, temper; doctor, nurse; medicate, treat; diagnose

Near Antonyms

aggravate, worsen; misdiagnose, overdiagnose, underdiagnose

Synonym Discussion of remedy

correct, rectify, emend, remedy, redress, amend, reform, revise mean to make right what is wrong. correct implies taking action to remove errors, faults, deviations, defects.

- correct your spelling

rectify implies a more essential changing to make something right, just, or properly controlled or directed.

- rectify a misguided policy

emend specifically implies correction of a text or manuscript.

- emend a text

remedy implies removing or making harmless a cause of trouble, harm, or evil.

- set out to remedy the evils of the world

redress implies making compensation or reparation for an unfairness, injustice, or imbalance.

- redress past social injustices

amend, reform, revise imply an improving by making corrective changes, amend usually suggesting slight changes

- amend a law

, reform implying drastic change

- plans to reform the court system

, and revise suggesting a careful examination of something and the making of necessary changes.

- revise the schedule

Other Pharmacology Terms

anodyne, cathartic, emetic, emollient, liniment, paregoric, poultice, purgative, soporific, spectrum

REMEDY Defined for English Language Learners

remedy

noun

Definition of remedy for English Language Learners

: a medicine or treatment that relieves pain or cures a usually minor illness
: a way of solving or correcting a problem

remedy

verb

Definition of remedy for English Language Learners

: to solve, correct, or improve (something)

REMEDY Defined for Kids

remedy

noun rem·e·dy \ ˈre-mə-dē \

Definition of remedy for Students

plural remedies

1 :a medicine or treatment that cures or relieves

2 :something that corrects a problem

remedy

verb

Definition of remedy for Students

remedied; remedying

:to provide or serve as a cure or solution for An explanation remedied the confusion.

Medical Dictionary

remedy

noun rem·e·dy \ ˈrem-əd-ē \

medical Definition of remedy

plural remedies

:a medicine, application, or treatment that relieves or cures a disease

—

remedy

transitive verb remedied; remedying

Law Dictionary

remedy

noun rem·e·dy

legal Definition of remedy

plural remedies

:the means to enforce a right or to prevent or obtain redress for a wrong :the relief (as damages, restitution, specific performance, or an injunction) that may be given or ordered by a court or other tribunal for a wrong

if the contract is null and void, the remedy is to rescind and to put the parties in the position in which they were prior to the attempted agreement
—First Nat'l Mortgage Corp. v. The Manhattan Life Ins. Co., 360 So. 2d 264 (1978)

specific performance and other equitable remedies

—

remediless

adjective

remedy

transitive verb

legal Definition of remedy

remedied; remedying

:to provide or serve as a remedy for

Learn More about remedy

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for remedy Spanish Central: Translation of remedy Nglish: Translation of remedy for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of remedy for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about remedy

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up remedy? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

remedy

Definition of remedy

remediless

Explore Merriam-Webster

Examples of remedy in a Sentence

Recent Examples of remedy from the Web

Origin and Etymology of remedy

remedy Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Pharmacology Terms

remedy

Definition of remedy

Examples of remedy in a Sentence

Recent Examples of remedy from the Web

First Known Use of remedy

remedy Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Synonym Discussion of remedy

Other Pharmacology Terms

Phrases Related to REMEDY

Related Phrases

REMEDY Defined for English Language Learners

remedy

Definition of remedy for English Language Learners

remedy

Definition of remedy for English Language Learners

REMEDY Defined for Kids

remedy

Definition of remedy for Students

remedy

Definition of remedy for Students

Medical Dictionary

remedy

medical Definition of remedy

remedy

Law Dictionary

remedy

legal Definition of remedy

remediless

remedy

legal Definition of remedy

Learn More about remedy

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

The History of the Word 'Terrorism'

Trending: McCain: Half-Baked, 'Spurious' Nationalism

17 English Words that Come From Japanese

Forms of Government Quiz

Words of the Year: 1066