Synonyms for nostrum
Most common
medicine remedy panacea catholicon snake oil patent medicine
Synonyms by meaning
Noun
1. Cure-all
cure-all informal, panacea, medicine, remedy, catholicon
2. Patent medicine — A medicine or remedy in conventional use which has not been proven to have any desirable medical effects
Definitions
- n. 1
A medicine or remedy in conventional use which has not been proven to have any desirable medical effects.
Near-synonyms: paternoster, patent medicine, snake oil
- n. 2
An ineffective but favorite remedy for a problem, usually involving political action.
Related words
- Phrases
- nostrum remedium
Forms
- Plural
- nostrums → cure-alls, panaceas, medicines, remedies…
Example sentences
- medicine The new medicine demonstrated an immediate effect.
- remedy Don't worry. We can remedy the mistake we've made.
- panacea It's no panacea, so don't expect any miracles from it.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| nostrum | falling | |
| medicine | steady | |
| remedy | falling | |
| panacea | falling | |
| catholicon | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 6 letters
- remedy3
- 7 letters
- panacea4
- 8 letters
- medicine3
- 10 letters
- catholicon
- 11 letters
- paternoster
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (remedy3 = 3 syllables).