medicar
medicate
Definition & meaning
Medicar means to treat someone or an animal with medicine. Depending on context, it can mean to give medication or to prescribe it.
In its reflexive form, medicarse means to take medication oneself, sometimes without professional guidance.
Grammar & Word origin
Medicar is a regular verb ending in -ar. It is usually transitive: the person or animal receiving the medication is the direct object. It can also be used with con (“with”) to name the medicine or type of treatment.
The verb is related to medicina and ultimately comes from Latin medicārī, meaning “to heal” or “to treat.”
Synonyms & antonyms
- tratar con medicamentos — “to treat with medication”; broader and less specific about whether medicine is prescribed or administered.
- administrar medicamentos — specifically means to give or administer medicines.
- prescribir — means to prescribe a treatment; it does not necessarily mean that the medicine is actually given.
There is no exact antonym. In a particular context, suspender la medicación (“to stop the medication”) can describe an opposite action.
Common phrases & collocations
Make “medicar” part of your vocabulary.
Build your Spanish vocabulary with flashcards, audio and spaced repetition.
Examples
El médico decidió medicar al paciente con un tratamiento especial.verb
The doctor decided to medicate the patient with a special treatment.
Keep exploring Spanish
Learn words from the content you love.
Add words from websites, books and videos, then remember them with spaced repetition (SRS).
Scan for iPhone & iPad