adjective / noun
pharmaceutical
far-muh-SOO-ti-kul/ˌfɑːrməˈsuːtɪkl/
Medicinal drugs and their production.
The pharmacist counts tablets on a tray while preparing pharmaceutical products.
Etymology
The Latin “of drugs” adjective traces back to a Greek word for a preparer of drugs, also a poisoner. Its English use focuses on medicines and the work of preparing and supplying them.
In context
of penicillin in the Second World War. Penicillin was discovered in 1928, but even by 1940, no commercially and medically useful quantities of it were being produced. A number of pharmaceutical companies were working on it.
More examples
- The pharmaceutical company tests every batch before shipping it.
- The hospital stores pharmaceuticals in a locked cabinet.
- Her pharmaceutical research focuses on new treatments for diabetes.
Forms
pharmaceutical · pharmaceuticals
pharmacy noun — The preparation and dispensing of medicinal drugs.
pharmacist noun — A licensed professional who prepares and dispenses medicines.
Similar words
- medicinal
- Describes healing properties or medical use, not drug production.
- medication
- Means medicine used for treatment, not the production process.