Of a medicine: purgative. Also: (of a person) suffering from diarrhoea. Obsolete.

Of medicines, food, etc.: Having the property of loosening and evacuating the bowels.

Medicine. That causes purgation (purgation, n. 4a); spec. that causes emptying of the bowels, (strongly) laxative.

That opens something; spec. that opens the bowels; laxative. Now rare.

Having the quality of cleansing, scouring, or washing away impurities; that purges. Also: of or relating to abstersion.

= purgative, adj. 1.

Medicine. Laxative; causing looseness of the bowels.

That diminishes or lessens something; spec. (of a medicine) mildly laxative.

Purgative.

Causing or producing relaxation; (also) enervating.

Laxative, relaxing. (Common in 17th cent.)

Blessed, benign, salutary; spec. in Medicine mildly laxative. Obsolete.

Medicine. Tending to open the bowels; aperient.

Purging, cathartic.

= aperient, adj.

Medicine. Causing evacuation, purgative.

= relaxant, adj.

Laxative. Cf. subduction, n. 1.

so in Burton for chalastick, < Greek χαλαστικός laxative.

Opening the bowels; laxative.

Medicine. Cleansing (the bowels), promoting evacuation, purgative.

Capable of promoting evacuation of the bowels; aperient.

That causes relaxation, esp. of muscles; of or relating to relaxation. Cf. muscle relaxant, adj.

Purging; purgative.

= cathartic, adj.

(As in Latin) Applied to medicines designed to open the mouths of vessels. Also used subst. Obs.

Adapted to clear away obstructions; aperient, deobstruent. Also as quasi-n.

of same meaning.

Of a medicine: cleansing; = rhyptic, adj.

Of a medicine: cleansing; = rhyptical, adj. rare.

That loosens, in various senses of the verb.

= cathartic, adj.; erroneously taken by Willis in the contrary sense.

Having power to remove rigidity or stiffness; relaxing; laxative. Also n. a chalastic medicine.

Relaxing; laxative.

Purgative. Also as n. (see quot. 1823).

= evacuant, adj.and evacuant, n.

That evacuates or tends to evacuate; promoting evacuation, cathartic, purgative.

Physiology and Medicine. = relaxant, adj.