Thesaurus results for PURGATIVE

purgative

noun

as in drug

a substance used to induce or speed up the process of defecation In the past, purgatives were sometimes administered in cases of accidental poisoning.

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of purgative Sales of purgatives, tonics, syrups and patent medicines like Carter’s Little Liver Pills went through the roof as ordinary people were encouraged to closely monitor the frequency and quality of their bowel movements. —

Elsa Richardson, TIME, 3 Oct. 2024 Or merely the tall-tale purgative of a frantic Purgatorian? —

Tom Nolan, WSJ, 11 June 2021 The persistent and sickening violence of Detroit could work as a powerful purgative, a corrective medicine for deprogramming those who doubt the reality of police brutality. —

Josephine Livingstone, New Republic, 8 Aug. 2017 Blackshirts forced their opponents to drink castor oil and other purgatives, and then sent them home, wrenching with pain and covered in their own feces. —

Michael Ebner, Slate Magazine, 30 Jan. 2017

Recent Examples of Synonyms for purgative

Noun

Now, a new study suggests researchers may have found the first drug regimen capable of rapid and sustaining relief from suicidal thoughts across a broad group of patients.

— Ariana Eunjung Cha, Washington Post, 19 May 2026
The quantum engineering of new molecules could lead to better drugs and to batteries that don’t use costly, environmentally damaging commodities such as rare earth elements.

— Zeeya Merali, Scientific American, 19 May 2026