as in panacea
something that cures all ills or problems a quack nostrum for cancer of all types

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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 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 Population trends today should raise serious questions about all the old nostrums that humans are somehow hard-wired to replace themselves to continue the species. Nicholas Eberstadt, Foreign Affairs, 10 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for nostrum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nostrum
Noun
  • As the lamprey crisis worsened, various chemical companies sent compounds to the lab, which was searching for a panacea.
    Katie Thornton, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Amazon delivery contractors quickly learn that bailing is no panacea.
    Bloomberg, Mercury News, 20 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • There is no magic elixir to consistently scheme easy buckets in the final minutes of contests.
    Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The other trial compares the same proprietary cannabis elixir with opioids, revealing that patients who used the elixir experienced fewer gastrointestinal side effects like constipation than when using painkillers.
    NPR, NPR, 21 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Considering these outcomes, what seems like a speedy remedy can actually create conditions for longer-term problems—both in relation to the environment and the home itself.
    Malana VanTyler, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
  • The company said a recall remedy is imminent but, until then, owners should park away from structures and refrain from charging vehicles because of fire risks.
    CNN Money, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • There is currently no cure, though treatments like chemotherapy can help patients live longer.
    Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Despite over a century of investigation, there is still no cure, but advances in diagnostic tools, treatments and preventive strategies continue to offer hope for slowing the disease and improving quality of life for patients and caregivers.
    The San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • But with its long list of as many as 80 ingredients and high status, theriac was expensive and exclusive.
    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
Noun
  • That struggling Cincinnati defense has been the cure-all for anything that has ailed the Steelers’ offense in recent years.
    Mike DeFabo, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Your Skin Might Actually Improve There’s no cure-all cream or powder to reverse the hands of time, but strength training might also carry skin benefits.
    Julia Sullivan, Health, 7 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Nostrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nostrum. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.

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