non-therapeutic

Meaning

1. 1adjectivebefore a nounformalmedical

   not intended to treat or cure a disease or medical condition

   Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: non-therapeutic use, non-therapeutic research. It is not normally used after a verb.

   Patterns

   • non-therapeutic use of something
   • non-therapeutic research
   • for non-therapeutic purposes

   The drug is strictly controlled because of its non-therapeutic use in sport.

   Some trials are purely non-therapeutic and aim only to understand how the body works.

   Regulators questioned the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in healthy farm animals.

Common combinations

non-therapeutic use

The report focused on the non-therapeutic use of prescription medicines by students.

non-therapeutic research

Non-therapeutic research on healthy volunteers raises special ethical questions.

for non-therapeutic reasons

The substance was taken for non-therapeutic reasons, purely to improve performance.

non-therapeutic purposes

The law bans the sale of these drugs for non-therapeutic purposes.

Synonyms and how they differ

nonmedical

This is broader: it means not related to medicine at all, while non-therapeutic can still involve medical settings or drugs.

recreational

This often describes drug use for pleasure and carries a disapproving tone, whereas non-therapeutic is neutral and technical.

Opposites

Word family

therapy noun

Treatment intended to relieve or cure a condition.

therapeutic adjective

Having a healing or calming effect; intended to treat illness.

therapist noun

A trained person who provides therapy.

Commonly confused: non-therapeutic or nontherapeutic?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “non-therapeutic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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