nostrum

noun

ˈnä-strəm How to pronounce nostrum (audio)
Definition of nostrumnext
as in panacea
something that cures all ills or problems a quack nostrum for cancer of all types

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 nostrum Wolff’s work and influence, alongside a simultaneous rise in the fields of psychology and psychosomatic medicine, helped to disperse those nostrums into the wider culture. — Tom Zeller Jr. july 30, Literary Hub, 30 July 2025 His personal integrity conflicts with liberal nostrums, resulting in Fish and Poinsettia’s bizarre repulsion-attraction rapport. — Armond White, National Review, 25 June 2025 Kennedy has promoted almost useless nostrums against measles, such as Vitamin A, while describing vaccination as a personal choice. — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2025 Eight years later, Democrats have devolved into nostrums about appealing to the middle class, ditching academic language, and finding a uniting message. — Alexander Nazaryan, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for nostrum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nostrum
  1. panacea
  2. elixir
  3. remedy
  4. cure
  5. theriac
  6. cure-all
Noun
  • Orbital data centers may be billed as a panacea for reducing stress on Earth’s resources, but any spaceward shift will not actually address the root of those problems—and will introduce new ones—Boley argues.
    — Arielle Frommer, Scientific American, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Additionally, missing middle and other reforms do not function as a panacea.
    — Stefan Chavez-Norgaard, The Conversation, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of panacea
Noun
  • Viral memes and videos are often good for only ephemeral dopamine hits, but leave the elixir to the humor and talent of the Gregory Brothers, a longtime musical quartet.
    — Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 23 Aug. 2026
  • The oil is mixed with garlic and soy sauce that’s been reduced with scallions and brown sugar, forming a salty-sweet elixir that delivers lip-numbing but not face-melting heat.
    — Warren Rojas, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of elixir
Noun
  • In a simple order published Wednesday, the judge accepted behavior remedies and rejected a divestiture.
    — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2026
  • At a trial last year on remedies in the case, the DOJ argued that Google cannot be trusted to run AdX, given its past behavior.
    — Jody Godoy, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of remedy
Noun
  • With only Lucien, a freshly out twink with more heart than abs, still by his side, Jim must race to find a cure before the disease erases the community that once worshipped him.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Seventy-one-year-old Bruce Willis, as is well known, has been living with frontotemporal dementia since 2023, a degenerative neurological disease that has no cure.
    — Roberta Mercuri, Vanity Fair, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of cure
Noun
  • L’Orvietan and its imitators had their roots in a more antique antidote called theriac.
    — Elizabeth Heath, Discover Magazine, 15 Feb. 2023
  • Zinc lozenges suddenly became the theriac to cure all ills; masks and hand-sanitizer, the ambergris and zedoary to ward off infection.
    — Spencer Strub, The New York Review of Books, 25 Mar. 2020
Definition of theriac
Noun
  • None of this is a cure-all; his fastball was hit hard in the majors, largely because of poor location and movement.
    — Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 31 July 2026
  • By Lu’s own admission, Ghost Font isn’t a cure-all to ongoing AI issues.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 16 July 2026
Definition of cure-all

Browse Nearby Words

nostalgic
nostrum
nostrums
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Cite this Entry

“Nostrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nostrum. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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