pharmaceutical

1 of 2

adjective

phar·​ma·​ceu·​ti·​cal ˌfär-mə-ˈsü-ti-kəl How to pronounce pharmaceutical (audio)
: of, relating to, or engaged in pharmacy or the manufacture and sale of pharmaceuticals
a pharmaceutical company
pharmaceutically adverb

pharmaceutical

2 of 2

noun

: a medicinal drug

Examples of pharmaceutical in a Sentence

Adjective lobbyists from the pharmaceutical industry Noun some pharmaceuticals can be quite risky unless taken correctly
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
Except that pharmaceutical companies already do. John Tamny, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025 Eli Lilly is among several pharmaceutical companies developing or currently marketing those drugs, which drugmakers are also studying in autoimmune conditions and other diseases. Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2025
Noun
That makes the market for them one of the most fragile in the pharmaceutical industry, Rajeev Venkayya, the former head of Takeda Pharmaceuticals’ vaccine unit, told me. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2025 Social media begs for it, liberal identity politics fuel it, and world-historic advances in pharmaceuticals like PreP and Doxy PEP enable it. Andrew Pasquier, Them., 18 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pharmaceutical

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Late Latin pharmaceuticus, from Greek pharmakeutikos, from pharmakeuein to administer drugs — more at pharmacy

First Known Use

Adjective

1636, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1829, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pharmaceutical was in 1636

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pharmaceutical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pharmaceutical. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

pharmaceutical

1 of 2 adjective
phar·​ma·​ceu·​ti·​cal ˌfär-mə-ˈsüt-i-kəl How to pronounce pharmaceutical (audio)
: of, relating to, or involved in pharmacy or the manufacture and sale of medicinal drugs
a pharmaceutical company
pharmaceutically adverb

pharmaceutical

2 of 2 noun
: a drug or preparation used in medicine

Medical Definition

pharmaceutical

1 of 2 adjective
phar·​ma·​ceu·​ti·​cal ˌfär-mə-ˈsüt-i-kəl How to pronounce pharmaceutical (audio)
variants also pharmaceutic
: of, relating to, or engaged in pharmacy or the manufacture and sale of pharmaceuticals
a pharmaceutical company
pharmaceutically adverb

pharmaceutical

2 of 2 noun
variants also pharmaceutic
: a medicinal drug

More from Merriam-Webster on pharmaceutical

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!