Thesaurus results for PURGATIVE

purgative

noun

Definition of purgative

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.

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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 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

Grande became the face of an ongoing conversation around health, and the cultural pendulum swing away from body positivity to the glorification of thinness, ignited by the proliferation of weight-loss drugs.

— José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 27 Aug. 2026
Researchers spent decades trying to target a group of mutations called RAS — responsible for nearly a third of all human cancers — but the protein’s flat shape defied typical drugs.

— Tasneem Nashrulla, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of drug

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purgative

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

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Synonyms of purgative

noun

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