Definition

Verb: To suggest or indicate that a particular medical treatment, procedure, or drug should not be used because it is likely to be harmful or ineffective for a specific patient or condition.

Usage

The verb "contraindicate" is used in formal medical contexts. It describes the action of identifying a specific reason (a contraindication) that makes a course of treatment unsuitable or dangerous. The subject is typically a patient's condition, symptom, or characteristic.

Examples

• Severe liver disease contraindicates the use of this medication.
• The patient's history of allergic reactions contraindicated the proposed antibiotic therapy.
• Pregnancy absolutely contraindicates that surgical procedure.

Advanced Usage

• Passive Voice Construction: The past participle "contraindicated" is very commonly used in an adjectival sense, often following the verb "to be."
  • This drug is contraindicated in patients with kidney failure.
• Gerund/Noun Form: The action or state of being contraindicated.
  • The contraindicating factor was the patient's unstable blood pressure.

Variants and Related Words

• Contraindication (noun): A specific condition or factor that makes a treatment inadvisable.
  • A known allergy to penicillin is a contraindication for its use.
• Contraindicated (adjective): Describing a treatment that should not be used.
  • The procedure is contraindicated for elderly patients with this condition.

Synonyms

• Preclude (in a medical context)
• Forbid (in a medical context)
• Prohibit (in a medical context)

Note: Synonyms like "forbid" and "prohibit" are general. "Contraindicate" is the precise technical term used in healthcare.

Antonyms

• Indicate (in a medical context, meaning to suggest a treatment is advisable)

Verb

1. make a treatment inadvisable