doctor 1 of 2

noun

ˈdäk-tər How to pronounce doctor (audio)
Definition of doctornext
as in physician
a person specially trained in healing human medical disorders we called a doctor as soon as we realized the baby was sick

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

doctor

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to treat
to give medical treatment to a pledge to doctor the burn victims until they were whole again

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to repair
to put into good shape or working order again spends his spare time doctoring old clocks

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to tailor
to change (something) so as to make it suitable for a new use or situation slightly doctored his standard campaign speech for a collegiate audience

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 doctor
Noun
Isshin disapproves of the use of the Dragon’s Heritage and secretly helps Wolf rescue Kuro by directing his doctor, Emma, to tip off Wolf about Kuro’s location. — Aman Kumar, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026 His condition deteriorated rapidly, and doctors ultimately diagnosed him with rabies. — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
Verb
Several subsequent investigations into the Russia probe have identified multiple errors into how it was conducted, and a former FBI lawyer pleaded guilty in 2020 to doctoring an email during the course of the inquiry. — Eric Tucker, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026 The fake image claimed the official Nintendo names for the blocks were Orange Ricky, Blue Ricky, Cleveland Z, Rhode Island Z, Hero, Teewee, and Smashboy — but the image had been doctored. — Louis Peitzman, Entertainment Weekly, 29 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for doctor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doctor
  1. physician
  2. treat
  3. repair
  4. tailor
  5. fix
  6. adjust
  7. adapt
  8. put
Noun
  • Most questions are screened by the office staff before they are relayed to the physician.
    — Paul Hsieh, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The physician runs a social media account critical of the communist government.
    — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of physician
Verb
  • Car parts, for example, are generally treated like other goods from China despite ongoing tensions over the country’s fast-growing auto sector.
    — Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Dark circles are the anchor of tired girl makeup, treated as a feature to style rather than a flaw to cover.
    — Ashley Lynch, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of treat
Verb
  • Technical skills matter, but so does knowing how to build trust, repair conflict, rekindle the connection, ask for help, set boundaries, and maintain close relationships.
    — Suzan J. Song, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Days said the focus of the project is not changing the machine's appearance or replacing a piece of Pittsburgh history, but repairing the internal components that have long been nonfunctional.
    — Gabby Sartori, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of repair
Verb
  • With Mike McDaniel tailoring an offense around him, and Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle offering lethal receiver targets, Tagovailoa threw 73 touchdowns, compared with 29 interceptions, over those three seasons.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026
  • District 6 Councilwoman Kimberly Owens suggested CMPD write that promise into the language of the law, tailoring the curfew to explicitly focus on gatherings of a certain size.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of tailor
Verb
  • The algorithm first fixes both cameras on a 3D point and determines the geometric relationship between the resulting images.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026
  • And the creators of these phone gambling ads don’t even bother to fix the mistakes!
    — Ticked Off, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of fix
Verb
  • As serotonin remains active longer, the brain adjusts by desensitizing some receptors.
    — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Teams cross multiple time zones, adjust practice and sleep schedules and play at a neutral site far from their normal routines.
    — Giovanni Malloy, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of adjust
Verb
  • Critics also questioned whether UCLA’s athletic department had adapted quickly enough to the NIL era.
    — Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Over the years, Marco Polo has adapted to the neighborhood’s changing demographics by downplaying its old-world Italian extravagance.
    — Rachel Corbett, Curbed, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of adapt
Verb
  • Costco is an awkward exhibit for putting shareholder-value maximization in the driver’s seat.
    — Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Espada is paid to put it in favorable positions, even when few seem to exist.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of put

Browse Nearby Words

docs
doctor
doctored
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Doctor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doctor. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of dissonant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All