tonic

C2+ Topic:Food & Drink

US /ˈtɑnɪk/ UK /ˈtɒnɪk/ See IPA manual

noun adj

Meanings

1

noun
a medicinal drink taken to restore vigor; something invigorating

The cool mountain air was a tonic after weeks in the crowded city.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a medicinal drink taken to... restorative stimulantinvigoratorcordialbracerpick-me-up

Opposites

depressantsedative

Word family

Derived forms tonicallytonicity

Related forms toneatonictonus

Etymology

From Ancient Greek tonikos ('of or for stretching, tonic'), from tonos ('tension, tone'), from teinein ('to stretch').

τονικός Ancient Greek τόνος Ancient Greek *ten- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Food & Drink Word Formation & Derivatives

# tonic

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** ˈtɑnɪk
**IPA (UK):** ˈtɒnɪk

## Meanings
1. a medicinal drink taken to restore vigor; something invigorating

## Examples
- The cool mountain air was a tonic after weeks in the crowded city.

## Synonyms
- restorative
- stimulant
- invigorator
- cordial
- bracer
- pick-me-up

## Antonyms
- depressant
- sedative

## Derived Forms
- tonically
- tonicity

## Related Forms
- tone
- atonic
- tonus

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: τονικός
- Root: τόνος
- Root: *ten-

## Etymology
From Ancient Greek tonikos ('of or for stretching, tonic'), from tonos ('tension, tone'), from teinein ('to stretch').

## AI Etymology
Tonic is from Ancient Greek tonikos ('of or for stretching, tonic'), from tonos ('tension, tone'), from teinein ('to stretch'). Important recorded forms include τονικός (Ancient Greek), τόνος (Ancient Greek), and *ten- (Proto-Indo-European). The modern sense continues the older lexical line without requiring a separate origin. In current use it covers a medicinal drink taken to restore vigor; something invigorating. The wider family includes derived forms such as tonically and tonicity and related words such as tone, atonic, and tonus.

## Topics
- Food & Drink
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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