1
as in pharmacists
a person who prepares drugs according to a doctor's prescription
in olden days the apothecary had few drugs that actually cured anything, most substances being little more than pain relievers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in pharmacies
a retail store where medicines and miscellaneous articles are sold
the historic village boasts an old-fashioned apothecary that's been there for almost a century and a half
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of apothecaries
Belif is predominantly a skin care brand, inspired by 19th-century apothecaries and their herbal medicines, mixed with modern scientific Korean beauty theory.
—
Bestreviews, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
In densely populated neighborhoods of flimsy wooden houses, charcoal braziers tumbled over, fuel tanks ruptured, combustible chemicals in apothecaries exploded, and high winds fanned the flames through alleys.
—Joshua Hammer, The New York Review of Books, 19 Mar. 2026
For decades after the nation’s founding, doctors had competition from homeopaths, herbalists, apothecaries, midwives, and religious healers—not to mention mothers.
—Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2025
Eventually, hard candies were made from the plant and carried in many apothecaries and general stores.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 30 Nov. 2025
Bestreviews, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
In densely populated neighborhoods of flimsy wooden houses, charcoal braziers tumbled over, fuel tanks ruptured, combustible chemicals in apothecaries exploded, and high winds fanned the flames through alleys.
—Joshua Hammer, The New York Review of Books, 19 Mar. 2026
For decades after the nation’s founding, doctors had competition from homeopaths, herbalists, apothecaries, midwives, and religious healers—not to mention mothers.
—Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2025
Eventually, hard candies were made from the plant and carried in many apothecaries and general stores.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 30 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apothecaries
Noun
-
Nurses, doctors and pharmacists, as well as health groups such as the American Heart Association (AHA) and American Cancer Society (ACS), had the broad support of 80 percent or more of respondents.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
9 June 2026
-
The pharmacists had kept hundreds of handwritten letters from customers whose skin had been healed, which soon also included my own.—
Rachel Burchfield,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
Last year, Kennedy’s ACIP didn’t issue a guidance on COVID vaccines until September, then softened the recommendations for their use, sowing confusion as pharmacies, doctors’ offices, and patients tried to figure out who was eligible for the shots and whether insurers would pay.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
7 June 2026
-
Either way, formularies, preferred pharmacies and drug tiers can change what a medication costs.—
Eve Cunningham,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Apothecaries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apothecaries. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
