1
Core quality
Able or tending to cure disease, restore health, or correct a harmful condition.
Example
The therapy may be curative for early-stage disease.
curative
/ˈkjʊərətɪv/ · KYOOR-uh-tivadjective
Able or tending to cure disease, restore health, or correct a harmful condition.
Use curative to express this relationship precisely: able or tending to cure disease, restore health, or correct a harmful condition.
What curative Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Attributive or predicative use
Use this adjective before a suitable noun or after a linking verb such as be or seem.
Example
The plant was believed to have curative properties.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
The procedure is palliative rather than curative.
Use curative Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The therapy may be curative for early-stage disease.
The plant was believed to have curative properties.
The procedure is palliative rather than curative.
Precision Matters
Curative overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
curative
vs.Means able or tending to cure disease, restore health, or correct a harmful condition.
pernicious
Means having a seriously harmful effect, especially one that develops gradually or is not immediately obvious.
curative
vs.Means able or tending to cure disease, restore health, or correct a harmful condition.
detrimental
Means causing harm, damage, disadvantage, or an undesirable effect.
curative
vs.Means able or tending to cure disease, restore health, or correct a harmful condition.
soporific
Means tending to induce sleep or extreme drowsiness; dull enough to make someone sleepy.
curative
vs.Means able or tending to cure disease, restore health, or correct a harmful condition.
efficacious
Means capable of producing the intended or desired result; effective.
Test curative in Context
It may eliminate the disease and restore health.
1
Unlike a painkiller that only reduces symptoms, the new treatment may be ___.