Word · Frequency #46351
purgative
泻药
a substance, especially a medicine, that causes the bowels to empty; laxative
- 1.
something, such as a substance or medicine, that purges; laxative
促使排便的物质或药物；泻药
促使排便的物质或药物；泻药；泻剂
In use
The old remedy was a strong purgative made from senna leaves.
He took a purgative before the medical examination to clear his bowels.
Many ancient physicians used purgatives to remove what they believed were harmful substances.
take a purgative
She took a purgative to relieve her constipation.
她服用了泻药来缓解便秘。
use [sth] as a purgative
Doctors often use this plant as a purgative.
医生们常把这种植物用作泻药。
a purgative for [condition]
Senna is a natural purgative for constipation.
番泻叶是治疗便秘的天然泻药。
Common mistakes
The doctor purgative the patient before the surgery.The doctor purged the patient before the surgery.
purgative 是名词，意为“泻药”，不能用作动词；表示“给……服泻药/使排便”应用动词 purge。
I ate a purgative to relieve my constipation.I took a purgative to relieve my constipation.
汉语“吃药”常直译为 eat，但英语中服药的习惯搭配动词是 take，所以应说 take a purgative。
I have constipation and need purgative.I have constipation and need a purgative.
purgative 是可数名词，单数形式前需要不定冠词 a/an；汉语没有冠词，学习者容易漏掉。
Connections
Collocations
- take a purgative
- 服用泻药
- The doctor told him to take a purgative to clear his bowels.医生让他服用泻药来清肠。
- strong purgative
- 强效泻药
- Senna is known as a strong purgative.番泻叶被认为是一种强效泻药。
- mild purgative
- 温和的泻药
- Prunes are often used as a mild purgative.西梅干常被用作温和的泻药。
- natural purgative
- 天然泻药
- This herbal tea works as a natural purgative.这种草药茶能起到天然泻药的作用。
- herbal purgative
- 草药泻药
- This herbal purgative is sold in health food stores.这种草药泻药在健康食品店有售。
Synonyms
Learner notes
Memory Tip
联想 purge（清除）+ -ative，就是“清除肠道”的药物；purgative 泻药，像清空一样排便。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：medicine、pharmacy、clinical purgative 作名词时多用于医学、药学等正式书面语境，意为“泻药”，属于较为正式的说法。
Pronunciation & Spelling
purgative（/ˈpəːgətiv/）的重读元音为 /əː/，其后为 /ɡətɪv/。以上各词虽都含有拼写片段 -ative，但重读元音或重音位置不同，因此都不与 purgative 押韵。例如 laxative（/ˈlæksətɪv/）和 negative（/ˈneɡətɪv/）的重读元音分别为 /æ/ 和 /e/，读音差别明显。仅可参考拼写结尾，不宜据此推断发音。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.