Word of the Day Archive
Wednesday October 22, 2003
panacea \pan-uh-SEE-uh\
, noun:
A remedy for all diseases, problems, or evils; a universal medicine; a cure-all.
He considered education "the great panacea" and insisted that access to knowledge was the key to all social progress.
-- Diane Ravitch, Left Back
I do not want to overstate the benefits of dialogue. Though I believe it sometimes has almost magical properties, it is not a panacea for all the problems that ail us.
-- Daniel Yankelovich, The Magic of Dialogue
Technology had become a panacea for the great economic, social, and political challenges facing the nation as it embarked on the path of modernization.
-- Paul R. Josephson, Red Atom
Panacea derives from Greek panakeia, from panakes, "all-healing," from pan-, "all" + akos, "cure."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for panacea
