enantipathy

A doctor explains the principle of enantipathy to a medical student.

Definition

1. Noun (Medicine):
   • Treatment by opposites: In medical contexts, "enantipathy" refers to a therapeutic method that treats a disease by administering agents that produce effects opposite to the symptoms of the disease (i.e., an allopathic or contrarian approach).

Usage Examples

• (The doctor used a treatment that works by opposing the symptom.)

Advanced Usage

• "principle of enantipathy": the foundational idea that illness can be cured by applying remedies that produce contrary effects.
  • The principle of enantipathy guided early Western medicine, where fever was treated with cooling agents.

Variants and Related Words

• Enantipathic (adj): relating to or based on enantipathy.
  • The enantipathic approach was common in the 19th century.

Synonyms

• Allopathy: a system of medicine that treats disease by producing effects opposite to the symptoms.
• Contrarian therapy: treatment that opposes the disease's manifestations.

Related Idioms

• "Fight fire with fire": (figurative) to use the same method as an opponent, though in enantipathy, the method is opposite, not identical.
  • The doctor's enantipathy was like fighting fire with water.