Meaning & use
healing
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“healing” is a form of “heal”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
noununcountable
The process of becoming healthy again after an injury or illness, or recovering from emotional pain.
Grammar: No plural; often modified by words like 'slow', 'emotional', or 'wound'.
Patterns
- the healing process
- emotional healing
- wound/bone healing
- aid/promote healing
The healing of the broken bone will take about six weeks.
After the divorce, she found healing in long walks and conversations with old friends.
adjectivebefore a noun
Helping the body or mind to recover; used before nouns.
Grammar: Only used before a noun, as in 'healing power'; do not say 'the cream is healing' in formal writing.
Patterns
- healing power/property
- a healing effect
- healing herbs/methods
The lotion is advertised for its healing effect on dry skin.
Many traditional societies rely on healing herbs passed down through generations.
Common combinations
- healing process
- Rest and good food speed up the healing process.
- emotional healing
- Talking to a counselor was an important part of her emotional healing.
- wound healing
- Doctors study how sleep affects wound healing.
- healing power
- Grandmother believed in the healing power of chicken soup.
Synonyms and how they differ
- recovery
- The general return to health; 'healing' emphasizes the gradual process itself.
- recuperation
- Recovery through rest over a period of time, often after treatment or an operation.
- cure
- Means the complete end of an illness, not the gradual process; you can be healing without yet being cured.
Word family
Commonly confused: healing or cure?
healing vs cure
A cure ends an illness completely; healing is the gradual process of getting better and can refer to emotional pain, which 'cure' rarely does.
Practice
Choose the correct word: 'The ___ of the deep cut took several weeks, but it left only a small scar.'
Choose one answer.
'Healing' names the gradual process of a wound getting better, which matches 'took several weeks'. 'Cure' would mean the illness or problem was ended outright, which does not fit the slow timeline described.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “healing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.