panacea

(păn'ə-sē'ə)
n.
A remedy for all diseases, evils, or difficulties; a cure-all.

[Latin panacēa, from Greek panakeia, from panakēs, all-healing : pan-, pan- + akos, cure.]

panacean pan'a·ce'an adj.

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from Greek words meaning 'all-healing', denotes not just a remedy but a universal remedy and is therefore not appropriate in the context of particular illnesses, e.g. a panacea for measles. It is most commonly used in negative or ironic ways and in social rather than medical contexts:

Many in the academic sector remain sceptical about whether employer-led higher education is the panacea some believe it to be—Times Higher Education Supplement, 2006.

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Some antidote or remedy that completely solves a problem. Most so-called panaceas in this industry, if they survive at all, wind up sitting alongside and working with the products they were supposed to replace. In addition, nothing solves a problem without introducing its own new set of problems. See Systemantics.

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noun

Something believed to cure all human disorders: catholicon, cure-all. See help/harm/harmless.

IN BRIEF: A remedy or medicine proposed for or professing to cure all diseases.

Change is an easy panacea. It takes character to stay in one place and be happy there. — Elizabeth C. Dunn.

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A remedy for all diseases.

For a list of words related to panacea, see:

• PHARMACOLOGY - panacea: cure-all believed to remedy all ailments
• Practice, Discipline, and Belief - panacea: universal remedy for all ills

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See words rhyming with "panacea."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Panacea.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - universalmiddel, patentmiddel

Nederlands (Dutch)
panacee

Français (French)
n. - panacée

Deutsch (German)
n. - Allheilmittel

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - πανάκεια, γιατρικό για όλες τις αρρώστιες

Italiano (Italian)
panacea

Português (Portuguese)
n. - panacéia (f)

Русский (Russian)
панацея

Español (Spanish)
n. - panacea

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - universalmedel, patentlösning

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
万能药

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 萬靈藥

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 만병통치약

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 万能薬

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الدواء العام‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תרופת מרפאת-כל‬

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