Adjacent Words

Heal definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

HEAL, v.t. [L. celo; Heb. to be whole or entire, all.]
1. To cure of a disease or wound and restore to soundness, or to that state of body in which the natural functions are regularly performed; as, to heal the sick.
Speak, and my servant shall be healed. Matthew 8.
2. To cure; to remove or subdue; as, to heal a disease.
3. To cause to cicatrize; as, to heal a sore or wound.
4. To restore to soundness; as, to heal a wounded limb.
5. To restore purity to; to remove feculence or foreign matter.
Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters. 2 Kings 2.
6. To remove, as differences or dissension; to reconcile, as parties at variance; as, to heal a breach or difference.
7. In Scripture, to forgive; to cure moral disease and restore soundness.
I will heal their backsliding. Hosea 14.
8. To purify from corruptions, redress grievances and restore to prosperity. Jeremiah 14.
9. To cover, as a roof with tiles, slate, lead, etc.
HEAL, v.i. To grow sound; to return to a sound state; as, the limb heals, or the wound heals; sometimes with up or over; it will heal up or over.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: heal or recover; "My broken leg is mending" [syn: mend, heal]
2: get healthy again; "The wound is healing slowly"
3: provide a cure for, make healthy again; "The treatment cured the boy's acne"; "The quack pretended to heal patients but never managed to" [syn: bring around, cure, heal]

Merriam Webster's

verb Etymology: Middle English helen, from Old English h?lan; akin to Old High German heilen to heal, Old English h?l whole — more at whole Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. a. to make sound or whole <heal a wound> b. to restore to health 2. a. to cause (an undesirable condition) to be overcome ; mend <the troubles…had not been forgotten, but they had been healed — William Power> b. to patch up (a breach or division) <heal a breach between friends> 3. to restore to original purity or integrity <healed of sin> intransitive verb to return to a sound state

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 intr. (often foll. by up) (of a wound or injury) become sound or healthy again. 2 tr. cause (a wound, disease, or person) to heal or be healed. 3 tr. put right (differences etc.). 4 tr. alleviate (sorrow etc.). Phrases and idioms: heal-all 1 a universal remedy, a panacea. 2 a popular name of various medicinal plants. Derivatives: healable adj. healer n. Etymology: OE hælan f. Gmc, rel. to WHOLE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Heal Heal, v. t. [See Hele.] To cover, as a roof, with tiles, slate, lead, or the like. [Obs.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Heal Heal, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Healed; p. pr. & vb. n. Healing.] [OE. helen, h[ae]len, AS. h[=ae]lan, fr. h[=a]l hale, sound, whole; akin to OS. h[=e]lian, D. heelen, G. heilen, Goth. hailjan. See Whole.] 1. To make hale, sound, or whole; to cure of a disease, wound, or other derangement; to restore to soundness or health. Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. --Matt. viii. 8. 2. To remove or subdue; to cause to pass away; to cure; -- said of a disease or a wound. I will heal their backsliding. --Hos. xiv. 4. 3. To restore to original purity or integrity. Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters. --2 Kings ii. 21. 4. To reconcile, as a breach or difference; to make whole; to free from guilt; as, to heal dissensions.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Heal Heal, v. i. To grow sound; to return to a sound state; as, the limb heals, or the wound heals; -- sometimes with up or over; as, it will heal up, or over. Those wounds heal ill that men do give themselves. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Heal Heal, n. [AS. h?lu, h?l. See Heal, v. t.] Health. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(heals, healing, healed) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. When a broken bone or other injury heals or when something heals it, it becomes healthy and normal again. Within six weeks the bruising had gone, but it was six months before it all healed... Therapies like acupuncture do work and many people have been healed by them. VERB: V, V n 2. If you heal something such as a rift or a wound, or if it heals, the situation is put right so that people are friendly or happy again. Today Sophie and her sister have healed the family rift and visit their family every weekend... The psychological effects on the United States were immense and in Washington the wounds have still not fully healed. VERB: V n, V

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

hel (rapha'; therapeuo, iaomai, diasozo): The English word is connected with the Anglo-Saxon hoelan, and is used in several senses:

(1) Lit., in its meaning of making whole or well, as in Ec 3:3. In this way it occurs in prayers for restoration to health (Nu 12:13; Ps 6:2; Jer 17:14); and also in declarations as to God's power to restore to health (De 32:39; 2Ki 20:5-8).

(2) Metaphorically it is applied to the restoration of the soul to spiritual health and to the repair of the injuries caused by sin (Ps 41:4; Jer 30:17).

(3) The restoration and deliverance of the afflicted land is expressed by it in 2Ch 7:14; Isa 19:22.

(4) It is applied to the forgiveness of sin (Jer 3:22).

In the New Testament, therapeuo is used 10 times in describing our Lord's miracles, and is translated "heal." Iaomai is used to express spiritual healing (Mt 13:15; Lu 5:17; Joh 12:40), and also of curing bodily disease (Joh 4:47). Diasozo, meaning "to heal thoroughly," is used in Lu 7:3 the King James Version where the Revised Version (British and American) renders it "save." The act of healing is called iasis twice, in Ac 4:22,30; sozo, to save or deliver, is translated "made whole" by the Revised Version (British and American) in Mr 5:23; Lu 8:36; Ac 14:9, but is "healed" in the King James Version. Conversely "made whole" the King James Version in Mt 15:28 is replaced by "healed" in the Revised Version (British and American).

Healed is used 33 times in the Old Testament as the rendering of the same Hebrew word, and in the same variety of senses. It is also used of purification for an offense or breach of the ceremonial law (2Ch 30:20); and to express the purification of water which had caused disease (2Ki 2:21,22). Figuratively, the expression "healed slightly" (the English Revised Version "lightly") is used to describe the futile efforts of the false prophets and priests to remedy the backsliding of Israel (Jer 6:14; 8:11); here the word for "slightly" is the contemptuous term, qalal, which means despicably or insignificantly. In Eze 30:21, the word "healed" is the rendering of the feminine passive participle, rephu'ah and is better translated in the Revised Version (British and American) "apply healing medicines." In the New Testament "healed" usually occurs in connection with the miracles of our Lord and the apostles. Here it is worthy of note that Luke more frequently uses the verb iaomai than therapeuo, in the proportion of 17 to 4, while in Matthew and Mark the proportion is 4 to 8.

Healer (chabhash) occurs once in Isa 3:7; the word literally means a "wrapper up" or "bandager."

Alexander Macalister

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Cure, remedy, restore, make sound or whole. 2. Reconcile, compose, soothe, settle, harmonize, make up. II. v. n. Be cured, become sound, get well.

Moby Thesaurus

bandage, bathe, bring around, bring round, care for, cicatrize, close up, cure, diagnose, doctor, flux, give care to, granulate, heal over, improve, knit, massage, mend, minister to, nurse, operate on, patch up, physic, plaster, poultice, pull round, purge, reconcile, recover, recuperate, recure, rejuvenate, remedy, renew, repair, restore, restore to health, revitalize, right itself, rub, scab over, set, settle, splint, strap, treat, work a cure