Meaning & use
natural healer
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A person who treats illness using plants, diet, or other methods that do not involve standard medicine.
Grammar: Countable: say a natural healer or natural healers; it refers to a person, not a treatment.
Patterns
- a natural healer who treats something
- go to a natural healer for something
She saw a natural healer for her back pain after the pills did not help.
The village natural healer used local herbs to make teas and ointments.
Some people call him a natural healer, though he has no medical license.
nouncountablefigurative
Something, especially a food or plant, believed to help the body heal on its own.
Grammar: Used less often this way; it names a thing rather than a person, so the plural is natural healers.
Patterns
- something is a natural healer
Honey is often described as a natural healer for small cuts.
Aloe vera is a natural healer that many people keep at home.
Word forms
| plural | natural healers |
|---|
Common combinations
- see a natural healer
- He decided to see a natural healer instead of a doctor.
- a well-known natural healer
- She became a well-known natural healer in her town.
- treat patients as a natural healer
- He treats patients as a natural healer, mostly with herbs.
- a natural healer's advice
- They followed a natural healer's advice about diet.
Synonyms and how they differ
- herbalist
- A herbalist works mainly with plants and herbs, while a natural healer may also use diet, massage, or other non-drug methods.
- faith healer
- A faith healer relies on prayer or religious belief, not on plants or diet, so the two are not interchangeable.
Word family
Commonly confused: natural healer or herbalist?
natural healer vs herbalist
A herbalist is a specific kind of natural healer who uses plants; not every natural healer is a herbalist.
Practice
Which sentence uses "natural healer" correctly?
Choose one answer.
"Natural healer" is a noun, so it can name a person or a healing thing, as in option 0. The other options use it as a verb or adverb, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “natural healer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.