Standard Lemma guide

panacea

name · noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation, US: păn"ə-sē'ə
  • Received-Pronunciation, US: /ˌpæn.əˈsiː.ə/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -iːə
  • UK: /ˌpænəˈsiːə/
  • UK: /ˌpænəˈsɪə/
  • păn'-ə-sēʹ-ə
  • /ˌpæn.əˈsiː.ə/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: P AE2 N AH0 S IY1 AH0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

The goddess/personification of healing, remedies, cures and panaceas (medicines, salves, ointments and other curatives). She is a daughter of Asclepius and Epione.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Greek

Topics: human-sciences, mysticism, mythology, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A remedy believed to cure all disease and prolong life that was originally sought by alchemists; a cure-all.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: heal-all

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A solution to all problems.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • A monorail will be a panacea for our traffic woes.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: chicken soup

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The plant allheal (Valeriana officinalis), believed to cure all ills.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases; once sought by the alchemists

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nostrum, catholicon, cure-all

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: remedy, curative, cure, therapeutic

Narrower terms: elixir

6

noun

Meaning 6

(Greek mythology) the goddess of healing; daughter of Aesculapius and sister of Hygeia

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: Greek deity

History

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Πανακεια (Panakeia, literally “all-curing”).

From Latin panacēa, from Ancient Greek πανάκεια (panákeia), from πανακής (panakḗs, “all-healing”), from πᾶν (pân, “all”) (equivalent to English pan-) + ἄκος (ákos, “cure”).

Across languages

Translations

101 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: Панацея (Panaceja) — goddess of healing
  • French: Panacée — goddess of healing
  • Italian: Panacea — goddess of healing
  • Arabic: تِرْيَاق (tiryāq) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Arabic: ترياق (teryaʔ) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Arabic: ترياق (teryaʔ) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Armenian: համադարման (hamadarman) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Belarusian: панацэ́я (panacéja) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Bulgarian: панаце́я (panacéja) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Catalan: panacea — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Chinese Mandarin: 萬應藥 /万应药 (wànyìngyào) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Chinese Mandarin: 萬應靈藥 /万应灵药 (wànyìnglíngyào) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Chinese Mandarin: 靈丹妙藥 /灵丹妙药 (língdānmiàoyào) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Czech: všelék — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Czech: panacea — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Danish: universalmiddel — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Danish: patentmedicin — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Danish: panacea — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Dutch: panacee — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Esperanto: panaceo — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Estonian: panatsea — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Finnish: yleislääke — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Finnish: ihmelääke — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • French: panacée — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Georgian: პანაცეა (ṗanacea) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • German: Allheilmittel — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • German: Panazee — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Greek: πανάκεια (panákeia) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Ancient Greek: πανάκεια (panákeia) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Hindi: रामबाण (rāmbāṇ) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Hindi: महौषधि (mahauṣdhi) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Hungarian: csodaszer — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Icelandic: undralyf — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Icelandic: kynjalyf — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Indonesian: panasea — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Italian: panacea — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Italian: toccasana — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Italian: triaca — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Japanese: 万能薬 (bannōyaku) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Korean: 만병통치약 (manbyeongtongchiyak) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Latin: panacēa — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Latvian: panaceja — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Lithuanian: panacėja — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Macedonian: панаце́ја (panacéja) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Norwegian Bokmål: universalmiddel — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Norwegian Bokmål: universalmedisin — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Norwegian Bokmål: mirakelkur — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Persian: نوشدارو (nuš-dâru) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Persian: انوشدارو (anuš-dâru) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Polish: panaceum — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Portuguese: panaceia — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Romanian: panaceu — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Russian: панаце́я (panacéja) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Scottish Gaelic: uil-ìoc — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Serbo-Croatian: панаце́ја — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Serbo-Croatian: panacéja — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Slovak: všeliek — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Slovene: panaceja — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Spanish: panacea — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Swedish: patentmedicin — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Swedish: panace — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Swedish: universalmedicin — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Swedish: universalläkemedel — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Swedish: panacé — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Swedish: universalmedel — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Swedish: mirakelkur — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Thai: ยาแก้สรรพโรค (yaa-gɛ̂ɛ-sàp-pá-rôok) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Thai: ยาระงับสรรพโรค (yaa-rá-ngáp-sàp-pá-rôok) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Thai: ยาครอบจักรวาล (yaa-krɔ̂ɔp-jàk-grà-waan) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Turkish: her derde deva — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Ukrainian: панаце́я (panacéja) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Yiddish: אַלהיילער (alheyler) — remedy believed to cure all disease
  • Catalan: panacea — solution to all problems
  • Chinese Mandarin: 靈丹妙藥 /灵丹妙药 (língdānmiàoyào) — solution to all problems
  • Czech: všelék — solution to all problems
  • Dutch: wondermiddel — solution to all problems
  • Finnish: yleislääke — solution to all problems
  • Finnish: ihmelääke — solution to all problems
  • Finnish: ihmeratkaisu — solution to all problems
  • French: panacée — solution to all problems
  • German: Allheilmittel — solution to all problems
  • German: Patentrezept — solution to all problems
  • German: Wunderwaffe — solution to all problems
  • Icelandic: allra meina bót — solution to all problems
  • Icelandic: töfraformúla — solution to all problems
  • Italian: panacea — solution to all problems
  • Polish: panaceum — solution to all problems
  • Portuguese: panaceia — solution to all problems
  • Russian: панаце́я (panacéja) — solution to all problems
  • Spanish: panacea — solution to all problems
  • Spanish: mano de santo — solution to all problems
  • Swedish: panace — solution to all problems
  • Swedish: universalmedel — solution to all problems
  • Swedish: patentlösning — solution to all problems
  • Turkish: her şeyin çaresi — solution to all problems
  • Ukrainian: панаце́я (panacéja) — solution to all problems
  • Welsh: ateb — solution to all problems
  • Chinese Mandarin: 纈草 /缬草 (xiécǎo) — particular plant
  • Finnish: panacea — particular plant
  • Latin: panacēa — particular plant
  • Scottish Gaelic: uil-ìoc — particular plant