therapeutically

IPA/ˌθerəˈpjuːtɪkli/
KK[θˌɛrəpjˈutɪkəli]IPA/ˌθerəˈpjuːtɪkli/

therapeutically — adverb

1. so that something serves to treat a physical or mental health problem or to help

1.adverbC1
Definition

so that something serves to treat a physical or mental health problem or to help a person recover

Example

The nurse used warm compresses therapeutically to ease Kenji's stiff shoulder.

use something therapeutically + treatment purpose

Doctors prescribed the oil therapeutically for Nala's severe skin rash.

Common collocations
  • used therapeutically
  • applied therapeutically
  • prescribed therapeutically
  • employed therapeutically
Synonyms
  • medically

    broader; can refer to health reasons or medical facts, not only treatment use

  • clinically

    more technical and often tied to patient care, trials, or professional assessment

  • remedially

    very formal and broader; often used for fixing problems outside medicine

Grammar Patterns

use something therapeutically

apply something therapeutically

prescribe something therapeutically

Usage Note

Most often follows verbs such as use, apply, prescribe, or practice when the speaker wants to stress that something is part of treatment or recovery. If you only mean that an activity feels calming or emotionally helpful, English more often uses the adjective therapeutic instead.

Common Mistakes

I listened therapeutically to jazz before bed.
I listened to jazz because it felt therapeutic.
Use therapeutically for treatment use, not simply for something that feels calming.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

Therapeutically focuses on using something as part of treatment or recovery. Medically is broader: it can mean for health reasons, by medical advice, or according to medical facts, even when treatment is not the main point. Clinically sounds more technical and often points to hospital practice, patient observation, or research testing. Remedially is the most formal of the group and can describe fixing many kinds of problems, not just illness. So a doctor may prescribe an oil medically, researchers may test it clinically, but if a nurse uses it to help a patient recover, it is being used therapeutically. The word therefore highlights healing purpose rather than medical authority alone.

therapeutically ↗medically ↗clinically ↗remedially

Common collocations

Phrases

  • used therapeutically
  • applied therapeutically
  • prescribed therapeutically

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

Therapeutically is the adverb built from therapeutic. The family goes back to Greek therapeuein, a verb that first meant to attend to or care for someone and later developed the medical sense of treating illness. From Greek it passed through Latin and French before entering English. The adverb keeps that history of care and healing, but it tells us about manner: something is done therapeutically when it is used with a treatment or recovery purpose, whether in medicine, rehabilitation, or another setting meant to help someone get better.

First known use

1646

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1