# medicinal vs medicine

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### medicinal
*adjective · IPA /məˈdɪ.sɪ.nəl/ · frequency rank #14,368*
Having the properties of medicine, or pertaining to medicine; medical.

### medicine
*noun · IPA /ˈmɛd.ɪ.s(ɪ)n/ · frequency rank #1,908*
A substance which specifically promotes healing when ingested or consumed in some way; a pharmaceutical drug.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/medicinal-vs-medicine