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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

heal.

To make better from a disease, wound, etc.; to revive or cure.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈhiːl/[ˈhɪi̯l]

  1. To make better from a disease, wound, etc.; to revive or cure.

    transitive
    This bandage will help to heal your cut.

  2. To become better or healthy again.

    intransitive
    Bandages allow cuts to heal.

  3. To reconcile, as a breach or difference; to make whole; to free from guilt.

    figuratively · transitive
    to heal dissensions
    to heal a broken heart
Where this word comes from

From Middle English helen, from Old English hǣlan (“to heal, cure, save, greet, salute”), from Proto-West Germanic *hailijan, from Proto-Germanic *hailijaną (“to heal, make whole, save”), from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos (“healthy, whole”). Derived from the adjective at hand in whole. Cognates Cognate with Scots hale, hail (“to heal”), Saterland Frisian heila, heilen (“to heal”), West Frisian hielje, Dutch helen (“to heal”), German heilen (“to heal”), Danish hele, Swedish hela (“to heal”), and further Russian цели́ть (celítʹ, “to heal”), Polish calić (“to save”), Czech celit (“to heal”), Serbo-Croatian céliti (“to heal”).

noun/ˈhiːl/[ˈhɪi̯l]

  1. A spell or ability that restores hit points or removes a status ailment.

    countable

  2. Healing; an instance of restoration of health or hit points.

    countable · in-plural · uncountable
    Give me heals! I need healing!

  3. health

    obsolete · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English helen, from Old English hǣlan (“to heal, cure, save, greet, salute”), from Proto-West Germanic *hailijan, from Proto-Germanic *hailijaną (“to heal, make whole, save”), from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos (“healthy, whole”). Derived from the adjective at hand in whole. Cognates Cognate with Scots hale, hail (“to heal”), Saterland Frisian heila, heilen (“to heal”), West Frisian hielje, Dutch helen (“to heal”), German heilen (“to heal”), Danish hele, Swedish hela (“to heal”), and further Russian цели́ть (celítʹ, “to heal”), Polish calić (“to save”), Czech celit (“to heal”), Serbo-Croatian céliti (“to heal”).

verb/ˈhiːl/[ˈhɪi̯l]

  1. Alternative form of hele (“conceal”).

    alt-of · alternative · rare
Where this word comes from

See hele.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.