Thesaurus Dictionary
Synonyms and antonyms of Types and forms of medicine in American Thesaurus
Types and forms of medicine
amphetamine (noun)
a drug that increases energy and excitement and makes you less hungry
anaesthetic ()
another spelling of anesthetic
anesthetic (noun)
a drug or gas given to someone before a medical operation to stop them feeling pain. Anesthetics that affect the whole of your body by making you unconscious are called general anesthetics and anesthetics that make you have no feeling in only a part of your body are called local anesthetics
antibiotic (noun)
a drug that cures illnesses and infections caused by bacteria. Doctors often give people a course of antibiotics, when they have to take a fixed amount of medicine each day for several days.
anticoagulant (noun)
a substance that prevents blood from coagulating (=becoming more solid)
antidepressant (noun)
a drug used for treating someone who is depressed (=so unhappy that they are considered sick)
antihistamine (noun)
a drug used to treat an allergy (=a bad reaction to something you swallow or touch)
anti-inflammatory (noun)
a drug taken to reduce inflammation (=swelling, heat, and pain)
antimalarial (noun)
a drug that prevents or cures malaria
antiretroviral (adjective)
antiretroviral drugs are used to treat certain types of virus, especially HIV (=the virus that causes AIDS)
beta-blocker (noun)
a drug that makes your heart work more slowly, used for treating high blood pressure
caplet (noun)
a pill shaped like an oval (=a long narrow circle)
contraceptive (noun)
a drug, method, or object used for preventing a woman from becoming pregnant
cough drop (noun)
a type of candy containing medicine that you suck when you have a cough or a sore throat
cough mixture (noun)
emetic (noun)
a substance that makes you vomit
herbal medicine (noun)
legal high (noun)
a psychoactive drug that was not or is not illegal
local anesthetic (noun)
a type of anesthetic (=a drug or gas a doctor gives you to stop you from feeling pain) that affects only one part of your body
magic bullet (noun)
a medication designed to cure an illness quickly and completely, without affecting other parts of the body
MMR vaccine (noun)
a drug given to young children by injection to protect them against measles, mumps, and rubella. Some parents are worried about their children being given the MMR vaccine because they believe it may cause autism.
multivitamin (noun)
a pill that some people take to make them healthier, containing various vitamins and minerals
painkiller (noun)
patent medicine (noun)
a medicine that you can buy from a store without a doctor’s prescription
pessary (noun)
a solid medicine or chemical substance put into a woman’s vagina to cure an infection or to prevent her becoming pregnant
prescription drug (noun)
a drug that you can only get if you have a prescription from your doctor
prophylactic (noun)
medical a medicine or treatment used for preventing disease or infection
relaxant (noun)
something, especially a drug, that relaxes you
sleeping pill (noun)
sleeping tablet (noun)
statin (noun)
a drug that is used to reduce the amount of cholesterol in the blood
steroid (noun)
a chemical that is produced in the body or made as a drug. Steroids can act as hormones or be used for treating conditions such as swelling, or, illegally, by athletes to improve their performance.
suppository (noun)
a drug in the form of a small block that is put inside the rectum or vagina to treat a medical condition
suppressant (noun)
a British spelling of tranquilizer
a British spelling of tranquilizer
vaccine (noun)
a substance put into the body, usually by injection, in order to provide protection against a disease
vitamin (noun)