as in panacea
something that cures all ills or problems
a quack nostrum for cancer of all types
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nostrum
Population trends today should raise serious questions about all the old nostrums that humans are somehow hard-wired to replace themselves to continue the species.
—
Nicholas Eberstadt, Foreign Affairs, 10 Oct. 2024
Expressed in what economists call the Phillips curve, this nostrum proved nearly useless in explaining the economy’s recent behavior.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 28 Jan. 2024
In September 2021, DeSantis appointed as his state’s surgeon general the COVID crank Joseph Ladapo, an advocate of the useless anti-COVID nostrums hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin and a persistent anti-vaccine advocate.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2024
This is a departure from the standard time-travel nostrum that any change to the past runs the danger of making things immeasurably worse in the future.
—Jennifer Ouellette and Sean M. Carroll, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2023
See All Example Sentences for nostrum
Nicholas Eberstadt, Foreign Affairs, 10 Oct. 2024
Expressed in what economists call the Phillips curve, this nostrum proved nearly useless in explaining the economy’s recent behavior.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 28 Jan. 2024
In September 2021, DeSantis appointed as his state’s surgeon general the COVID crank Joseph Ladapo, an advocate of the useless anti-COVID nostrums hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin and a persistent anti-vaccine advocate.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2024
This is a departure from the standard time-travel nostrum that any change to the past runs the danger of making things immeasurably worse in the future.
—Jennifer Ouellette and Sean M. Carroll, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2023
See All Example Sentences for nostrum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nostrum
Noun
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Yager acknowledges that his operation is no panacea for the region’s worsening housing struggles.—
Jaime Moore-Carrillo,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 Feb. 2025
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Administrators have convinced themselves this will be the panacea that ends the practice of collectives throwing money at recruits/transfers under the guise of NIL.—
Stewart Mandel,
The Athletic,
8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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O’Brien Was Game to Be Green for ‘Wicked’ Bit The telecast featured a cold open inspired by the Demi Moore-starrer The Substance that featured O’Brien taking the powerful green elixir and then emerging from a woman’s back like in the body horror pic.—
Chris Gardner,
The Hollywood Reporter,
13 Mar. 2025
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Some want a mind-expanding elixir, others a mellow seltzer.—
Javier Hasse,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The National Immigrant Justice Center and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois filed a motion in Chicago’s U.S. District Court Thursday seeking the release of two people still detained and the enforcement of remedies to prevent unlawful arrests by ICE.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Mar. 2025
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Apple cider vinegar is an old remedy that contains acetic acid and other health-promoting compounds.—
Yvelette Stines,
Verywell Health,
18 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Join 41 others in the comments View Comments If so, the bar for buying into a cure for a new condition should be raised.—
Andrea Kane,
CNN,
17 Mar. 2025
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For billions of people, TB is already a nightmare disease, both because the bacterium is unusually powerful and because world leaders have done a poor job of distributing cures.—
John Green,
The Atlantic,
15 Mar. 2025
Noun
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L’Orvietan and its imitators had their roots in a more antique antidote called theriac.—
Elizabeth Heath,
Discover Magazine,
15 Feb. 2023
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But with its long list of as many as 80 ingredients and high status, theriac was expensive and exclusive.—
Elizabeth Heath,
Discover Magazine,
15 Feb. 2023
Noun
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Signing free-agent starters in March, meanwhile, is not necessarily a cure-all, as demonstrated last season by the difficulties of two pitchers who reached such agreements — Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.—
Ken Rosenthal,
The Athletic,
10 Mar. 2025
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Overall, though, the scientific consensus seems pretty clear on one point: While zinc definitely isn’t a cold cure-all, getting an adequate amount of it simply helps your immune system function at its best—an important consideration when bugs are going around.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
10 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nostrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nostrum. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.
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