purgative

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“
It is a diuretic which frequently acts as a purgative, a fact that is not surprising in view of the above-mentioned properties of the alcoholic extract The roasted seeds used as a purgative are so trustworthy that they deserve the further attention of physicians Botanical Description.--A vine very well known by its blue flowers.

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Definitions (12)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. adjective Tending to cleanse or purge, especially causing evacuation of the bowels.
  2. noun A purgative agent or medicine; a cathartic.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (7)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • Mohamad gave me medicines; one was a sharp purgative, the others intended for the cure of the cough. —  The Last Journals of David Livingstone, in Central Africa, from 1865 to His Death, Volume II, 1869-1873
  • It seems contridictory but a hot tea was used as a purgative and a cold tea to prevent vomiting. —  Find Me A Cure
  • A woman of a strong constitution got the remainder as a brisk purgative, and it operated ten times without causing any uneasiness. —  Experiments upon magnesia alba, Quicklime, and some other Alcaline Substances
  • It rarely occurs unless induced by a purgative, and the excessive action of the medicine is probably to be explained upon the theory that the mucous membrane sympathizes with the diseased laminć, is irritable, and readily becomes overexcited. —  Special Report on Diseases of the Horse
  • The trouble does not seem to depend upon the size of the purgative, the length of time before purgation begins, or the activity and severity with which the remedy acts. —  Special Report on Diseases of the Horse
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

emetic ·  cathartic ·  curative ·  emollient ·  inedible ·  sudorific ·  homeopathic ·  purge ·  woozy ·  analagous ·  androgenic ·  deleterious
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from French purgatif = Provencal purgatiu = Spanish Portuguese Italian purgativo, from Late Latin purgativus, cleansing, cathartic, from Latin purgare, past participle purgatus, cleanse: see purge.
 

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/ˈpərgətɪv/
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