medicate

verb

med·​i·​cate ˈme-di-ˌkāt 

medicated; medicating

transitive verb

1

: to treat (someone or something) with or as if with medicine

medicate a condition

was medicated for pain/depression

… is happily living his life one day at a time since he stopped drinking and otherwise medicating himself …

—Charles Leerhsen

2

: to impregnate with a medicinal substance

medicated soap

Examples of medicate in a Sentence

The patient had been heavily medicated.

Recent Examples on the Web

The plant the orangutan used to medicate is not usually eaten by the species, but it is known to humans as a pain reliever. —Evan Bush, NBC news, 14 May 2025

With wide access to topical fluoride, there's no need to medicate entire communities without their consent. —Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 May 2025

According to that ruling, judges must find that four requirements are met before involuntarily medicating a defendant. —Alex Riggins, Mercury News, 29 Apr. 2025

Many of the characters seem to have been medicated into a stupefied affectlessness. —Moira Donegan, New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin medicatus, past participle of medicare to heal, from medicus

First Known Use

circa 1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing medicate

• self-medicate

Rhymes for medicate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

Medical Definition

medicate

transitive verb

med·​i·​cate ˈmed-ə-ˌkāt 

medicated; medicating

1

: to treat medicinally

2

: to impregnate with a medicinal substance

medicated soap