treat, suffer, prescribe, ache, operate: meanings and examples

Learn these 5 words from Intermediate set 14. Each entry includes a definition, example sentence, pronunciation, and synonyms. Use the interactive cards above to practice them.

1. treat · verb/trit/

   to use medicine or medical methods to cure someone or an illness

   Vaccination is used not only for preventing, but also for treating infectious diseases.

   Synonyms: cure, heal, help

   Origin: Middle English (in the senses ‘negotiate’ and ‘discuss a subject’): from Old French traitier, from Latin tractare ‘handle’, frequentative of trahere ‘draw, pull’. The current noun sense dates from the mid 17th century

2. suffer · verb/ˈsəfər/

   to feel physical or mental pain

   Her sister had suffered severely from arthritis for 5 years before she passed away.

   Synonyms: go through, experience

   Origin: Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French suffrir, from Latin sufferre, from sub- ‘from below’ + ferre ‘to bear’

3. prescribe · verb/priˈskraɪb/

   to order the use of a medicine or treatment

   Due to increasing pain in her leg, the doctor prescribed her a stronger medicine.

   Synonyms: order, recommend

   Origin: late Middle English (in the sense ‘confine within bounds’, also as a legal term meaning ‘claim by prescription’): from Latin praescribere ‘direct in writing’, from prae ‘before’ + scribere ‘write’

4. ache · verb/eɪk/

   to feel a continuous dull pain

   He had too much to drink the night before, so his head was aching terribly.

   Synonyms: hurt, throb

   Origin: Old English æce (noun), acan (verb)

5. operate · verb/ˈɑpəˌreɪt/

   to perform surgery

   According to the surgeon, open-heart surgery is too risky at her age, and so he can't operate.

   Synonyms: perform surgery, do an operation

   Origin: early 17th century: from Latin operat- ‘done by labor’, from the verb operari, from opus, oper- ‘work’