Word.ws English Dictionary

alterative

UK/ˈɒl.tɹə.tɪv/US/ˈɔl.tɚˌaɪ.tɪv/

alterative noun: a medicine or treatment which works by changing processes within the body, rather than by evacuating something etc.

Noun

alterative (plural alteratives)

  1. (historical) A medicine or treatment which works by changing processes within the body, rather than by evacuating something etc.
    • Amongst this number of cordials and alteratives I do not find a more present remedy than a cup of wine or strong drink, if it be soberly and opportunely used.1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II...

Adjective

alterative (comparative more alterative, superlative most alterative)

  1. Causing alteration.
    1. Gradually changing, or tending to change, a morbid state into a healthy one.

alterative meaning in Tamil and Bengali

alterative in Tamil

நலமீட்பு மருந்து

alterative in Bengali

পরিবর্তন ঘটায় এমন

Forms of alterative

Noun
pluralalteratives
Adjective
comparativemore alterative
superlativemost alterative

Origin of alterative

From Latin alterativum, noun use of alterativus.

Questions about alterative

What does alterative mean?
Alterative means a medicine or treatment which works by changing processes within the body, rather than by evacuating something etc.
What is alterative in Tamil?
Alterative in Tamil is நலமீட்பு மருந்து. See Alterative meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is alterative?
Alterative can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce alterative?
Alterative is pronounced /ˈɒl.tɹə.tɪv/ (UK).
What is the plural of alterative?
The plural of alterative is alteratives.

Words near alterative in the dictionary

  1. alterated
  2. alteration
  3. alterationist
  4. alterationists
  5. alterations
  6. alterative
  7. alteratives
  8. alterator
  9. alterators
  10. altercate
  11. altercated

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: alterative (page history and authors); alterative (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); alterative (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “alterative.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/alterative. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.