wonder drug

noun

: a drug usually newly discovered that elicits a dramatic positive response in a patient's condition : miracle drug

So far, Prozac is acting as something of a wonder drug; it is highly effective, causes few dangerous side effects, and is already the most widely prescribed antidepressant after just 4 years on the market.

—Ruth Levy Guyer and Daniel E. Koshland, Jr.

Stodgy old aspirin suddenly appears to be a wonder drug. But as often happens in medicine, the news hype may have overreached in search of hope.

—Steven Findlay

Examples of wonder drug in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s a little bit of business about how Zora and her team will be harvesting blood from the biggest dinos of land, sea, and sky in order to create a wonder drug that will cure heart disease … and isn’t heart disease how her mother died? —Nate Jones, Vulture, 2 July 2025

This class of treatment — monoclonal antibodies, special artificial proteins that carry instructions to the body’s immune system — have the potential to be a genuine all-in-one allergy wonder drug. —Dylan Scott, Vox, 15 Apr. 2025

The researchers also noted that there really isn't a wonder drug that might arise from this study. —New Atlas, 10 Mar. 2025

Photo: David Yellen The first great wonder drug was insulin, the blood-sugar-regulating hormone that was isolated in Canada nearly a century ago. —IEEE Spectrum, 27 May 2015

Word History

First Known Use

1939, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for wonder drug

• antidrug
• mealybug
• multidrug
• chug
• doug
• dug
• hug
• jug
• lug
• mug
• plug
• pug

Kids Definition

wonder drug

noun

: a usually newly discovered drug capable of producing a noticeable and favorable change in a patient's condition

called also miracle drug

Medical Definition

wonder drug

noun

won·​der drug ˈwənd-ər- 

: miracle drug