Meaning & use
osteopathic
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounmedical
Relating to osteopathy, a system of medical care that treats the body as a whole and often uses hands-on manipulation of muscles and joints.
Grammar: Goes before a noun: osteopathic medicine, an osteopathic doctor. It is not used after a verb like 'be' in everyday speech.
Patterns
- osteopathic medicine
- osteopathic treatment
- an osteopathic physician
She studied osteopathic medicine and now works in a rural clinic.
He received osteopathic treatment for his long-standing back pain.
The hospital has a separate osteopathic program for new doctors.
adjectivebefore a nounmedical
Trained in or practicing osteopathy.
Grammar: Describes a person or their qualification, so it comes before words like doctor, physician, or student.
Patterns
- an osteopathic doctor
- an osteopathic student
My family doctor is osteopathic and often uses her hands to check the spine.
The clinic was started by two osteopathic physicians in the 1980s.
Common combinations
- osteopathic medicine
- Osteopathic medicine is taught at several medical schools in the United States.
- osteopathic physician
- An osteopathic physician may use manipulation as well as drugs.
- osteopathic treatment
- The osteopathic treatment focused on relaxing the muscles around the hip.
- osteopathic manipulative medicine
- He specializes in osteopathic manipulative medicine for athletes.
- osteopathic school
- She graduated from an osteopathic school last spring.
Synonyms and how they differ
- osteopathy-related
- A clumsy made-up phrase; use osteopathic instead when you need an adjective before a noun.
- manipulative
- Describes hands-on therapy in general; osteopathic is the more specific term tied to the osteopathy profession.
Word family
- osteopathy noun
- The system of medicine itself, without drugs or surgery as the main tools.
- osteopath noun
- A person who practices osteopathy.
Commonly confused: osteopathic or orthopedic? osteopathic or osteoarthritis?
osteopathic vs orthopedic
Orthopedic refers to the medical specialty dealing with bones and joints, especially surgery. Osteopathic describes a whole-body approach to medicine, not just bones.
osteopathic vs osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a joint disease. Osteopathic describes a type of medical practice, so the two words look similar but mean very different things.
Practice
Which sentence uses osteopathic correctly?
Choose one answer.
Osteopathic describes a type of doctor or medicine, so it fits before 'doctor' in option A. Options B and D wrongly use it to mean a physical condition or feeling, and option C treats it as a noun for a building.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “osteopathic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.