pill
Noun 1. A small, solid, rounded mass of medicine intended for swallowing whole: A dose of medication in a compact, often coated form. Example: The doctor prescribed a pill to lower his blood pressure. 2. An oral contraceptive: Specifically "the pill," a tablet containing hormones to prevent pregnancy. Example: She has been on the pill for five years. 3. Something unpleasant that must be accepted or endured: A metaphorical bitter or difficult experience. Example: Losing the championship was a hard pill to swallow. 4. A tiresome or annoying person: (Slang) An individual who is irritating or a source of frustration. Example: He can be such a pill when he's tired. 5. A small, round object resembling a medicinal tablet: Any object shaped like a pill. Example: The candy was shaped like a tiny red pill.
- Medicine:
- Contraceptive:
- Metaphorical Difficulty:
- Annoying Person:
- Shape/Form:
- A bitter pill (to swallow): An unwelcome fact or situation that is difficult to accept.
- Sugarcoat / Gild the pill: To make something unpleasant seem more attractive or acceptable.
- Pillbox (n): A small container for holding pills; also a type of small military fortification.
- Pill-popper (n, slang): A person who frequently or habitually takes pills, especially tranquilizers or stimulants.
- Tablet: A small, compressed solid dose of medicine.
- Capsule: A dose of medicine enclosed in a soluble gelatin shell.
- Lozenge: A small, often medicated candy to be dissolved in the mouth.
- Nuisance: (For the "annoying person" meaning) a bothersome person or thing.
- To pillory (v, related historically): To publicly criticize or ridicule. (Derived from a different root but often associated metaphorically with the unpleasantness of a "pill").
- A pill to cure an earthquake: An utterly inadequate or futile remedy for a massive problem.
- a contraceptive in the form of a pill containing estrogen and progestin to inhibit ovulation and so prevent conception
- something unpleasant or offensive that must be tolerated or endured
- his competitor's success was a bitter pill to take
- a unpleasant or tiresome person
- a dose of medicine in the form of a small pellet
- something that resembles a tablet of medicine in shape or size