Vulnerary

//ˈvʌl.nɚ.ɛɹ.i// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A healing drug or other agent used in healing and treating wounds.

    "On the ſurface of the water there floats a liquid bitumen, although it be every day ſcummed off, as it doth on the lake Aſphaltites in Judæa: The Inhabitants uſe it as pitch: it is alſo found to be an excellent vulnerary, and good in curing old cacoethic and ſcrophulous ulcers."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Useful or used for healing wounds; curative, healing.

    "Rebecca examined the wound, and having applied to it such vulnerary remedies as her art prescribed, informed her father that […] there was nothing to fear for his guest’s life."

  2. 2
    Causing wounds; wounding. archaic, rare

Example

More examples

"Rebecca examined the wound, and having applied to it such vulnerary remedies as her art prescribed, informed her father that […] there was nothing to fear for his guest’s life."

Etymology

From Latin vulnerārius, from vulnus (“wound”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.