demulcent
Syllables: de·mul·cent/dɪˈmʌls(ə)nt/US/dɪˈmʌls(ə)nt/
demulcent adjective: soothing or softening.
Adjective
demulcent (comparative more demulcent, superlative most demulcent)
- Soothing or softening.
- In continual hectic Heats, and if the ſweet Juices, by a continued ſlow Fever, acquire a ſaltiſh alcaline Acrimony, Cream and new Butter, on Account of their demulcent Qualities, are found to produce excellent Effects.1747, R[obert] James, “Of Alteratives”, in Pharmacopœia Universalis: Or, A New English Dispensatory. …, London: Printed for J. Hodges, at the Looking-Glass, over-against St. Magnus's Church, London...
- Twenty leeches were ordered to be applied round the nose every two days; frequent emollient fomentations; the local vapour bath; general bathing; stimulating pedilavia; a strict regimen; vegetables, milk, white meats; demulcent or acidulated drinks; avoidance of exposure to the sun or to cold air...1827 May 1, “XXVI. Spreading Ulcer of the Nose.”, in James Copland, John Darwall, John Conolly, editors, The London Medical Repository and Review, volume XXVII, number 161 (New Series, volume IV...
Noun
demulcent (plural demulcents)
- A soothing medication used to relieve pain in inflamed tissues.
- Indians of the West Coast used preparations of prickly-pear to treat wounds, burns, contusions, warts, and even to facilitate childbirth. Modern herbalists recognize the plant's slippery-oily juice as a useful emollient and demulcent, which may be used externally to soothe dry, irritated skin or...1997, Gregory L. Tilford, “Prickly-pear Cactus”, in Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, Missoula, Mt.: Mountain Press Publishing Company, published July 2009, →ISBN, page 118
- For constipation, a neem powder of two or three grams with three to four black peppers given three times a day is both a laxative and a demulcent.2000, Ellen Norten, “Medicinal Uses of Neem”, in Jean Pütz, with Kordula Werner and Deborah Straw, editors, Neem: India’s Miraculous Healing Plant, 1st English edition, Rochester, Vt.: Healing Arts...
demulcent meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Tagalog
demulcent in Tamil
- உறுத்தலடக்கி
demulcent in Urdu
- سکون دینے والا
demulcent in Bengali
- জ্বালা, ব্যথা প্রশমিতকারী
demulcent in Tagalog
- soothing medication
- demulsente
More languagesFewer languages
- demulcent in Arabic
- ملطف
Examples of demulcent in a sentence
- I channel vertically under the sheet to hide my blushing neck, muttering demulcent nothings.1990, Helen Simpson, “Four Bare Legs in a Bed”, in Four Bare Legs in a Bed: And Other Stories, London: William Heinemann, →ISBN...
- Ed filled those 5–10 'extra minutes' a day with some unchallenging, often demulcent reading material.2016, W. D. Clarke, “[Love’s Alchemy.] Pure Bull***t”, in White Mythology: 2 Novellas: Skinner Boxed; Love’s Alchemy, [s.l.]: All That Is...
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) […] If showing symptoms, give absorptive preparations and/or demulcents.2014, Trish Scorer, “First Aid Procedures”, in Victoria Aspinall, editor, Clinical Procedures in Veterinary Nursing, 3rd edition...
Forms of demulcent
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more demulcent |
| superlative | most demulcent |
| Noun | |
| plural | demulcents |
Origin of demulcent
From Latin dēmulcēns, present active participle of dēmulceō (“to stroke caressingly; to soften, soothe, allure”), from dē- (“from; of”) + mulceō (“to move or touch gently or lightly, to stroke; to make pleasant or sweet; to soften, soothe, alleviate, relieve”).
Questions about demulcent
- What does demulcent mean?
- Demulcent means soothing or softening.
- What is demulcent in Tamil?
- Demulcent in Tamil is உறுத்தலடக்கி. See Demulcent meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use demulcent in a sentence?
- I channel vertically under the sheet to hide my blushing neck, muttering demulcent nothings.
- What part of speech is demulcent?
- Demulcent can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce demulcent?
- Demulcent is pronounced /dɪˈmʌls(ə)nt/ (UK).
Words near demulcent in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: demulcent (page history and authors); demulcent (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); demulcent (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); demulcent (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.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-demulcent.wav.
Cite this entry: “demulcent.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/demulcent. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.