How to Use folk medicine in a Sentence

folk medicine

noun
  • For years, many of them relied on folk medicine passed down through families for generations.
    — John Carlisle, Detroit Free Press, 31 Mar. 2020
  • Throughout human history and across cultures, fossils were prized as amulets or used in folk medicine.
    — Hans-Dieter Sues, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Jan. 2020
  • Women who were not physicians, but [practitioners of] folk medicine.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 17 Sep. 2020
  • It’s been used for hundreds of years by the Cherokee and in Appalachian folk medicine.
    — Laura Hancock, cleveland, 26 Aug. 2022
  • Science has caught up with the empirical wisdom of country folk medicine.
    — Diane Kochilas, Contributor, CNBC, 13 Aug. 2024
  • Sun bears’ gall bladders are used in some Chinese folk medicine, and their paws are a high-end delicacy.
    — Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Aug. 2023
  • The herb has a long tradition in folk medicine and is often used to stimulate digestion.
    — Maria Berentzen, Vogue, 11 Sep. 2024
  • It has been used in folk medicine to aid digestion, reduce fevers and headaches, relieve insect bites, and lower high blood pressure.
    — Sherri Gordon, Health, 31 July 2025
  • The flowering shrubs known as witch hazel are perhaps best known for their use in folk medicine and as a natural topical skin ointment.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 28 Aug. 2023
  • The idea of drinking mushroom tea might not initially sound appealing, but chaga has been used in folk medicine for hundreds of years.
    — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026
  • It has been used in folk medicine to support digestion, reduce fevers and headaches, relieve insect bites, and lower high blood pressure.
    — Sherri Gordon, Health, 8 Dec. 2025
  • Rachel Yoder returns to the land of her family’s Amish roots, seeking folk medicine and answers.
    — Peter Rubin, Longreads, 11 July 2023
  • The pills are made with maca, an herb used in folk medicine for centuries, as well as several other natural ingredients.
    — Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 9 Mar. 2023
  • It’s been used for thousands of years in traditional and folk medicine to treat a range of issues from bronchitis to skin infections.
    — Katie Camero, NBC News, 5 Aug. 2023
  • It has been used in Ukrainian folk medicine for ailments, and is said to represent the beauty of women and the family home.
    — Liana Satenstein, Vogue, 20 Apr. 2022
  • Holy basil is used widely in Ayurvedic and folk medicine, often in the form of herbal tea, and is considered sacred in Hinduism.
    — Kate Kassin, Bon Appétit, 10 Feb. 2022
  • According to her research, folk medicine in Armenia dates back nearly three millennia.
    — Karine Vann, Smithsonian, 22 May 2017
  • Kratom has traditionally been used in Southeast Asia for centuries as a folk medicine and mild stimulant.
    — Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 15 Dec. 2022
  • Many of those ingredients have been a part of folk medicine for centuries, but studies on their efficacy have produced variable results.
    — Maura Judkis, Twin Cities, 3 Aug. 2019
  • Born in Milwaukee and raised by Slovenian parents, Rachel Budde grew up around folk medicine.
    — New York Times, 31 Dec. 2020
  • Horehound candy has origins going back centuries in folk medicine, when the horehound plant was used to brew teas and used as remedies for various throat and digestive issues.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 11 July 2025
  • In fact, honey has featured prominently in folk medicine for millennia, and reams of clinical studies confirm its wound-healing effects.
    — Cristina Mueller, Town & Country, 6 Dec. 2012
  • In these countries pangolins’ meat is a treat and their scales are used in folk medicine, even though those scales are made of keratin, the same substance as hair and fingernails, and thus have no medicinal value.
    — The Economist, 31 Jan. 2018
  • Trump thinks the coverings are unflattering and López Obrador has joked that folk medicine amulets are enough to protect him from Covid-19.
    — Stephen Collinson, Caitlin Hu and Shelby Rose, CNN, 9 July 2020
  • Many Indians rely on folk medicine Ayurveda practitioners and shamans in tribal areas.
    — Alex Horton, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2018
  • In the search for new germ killers, researchers in the small but promising field of ethnopharmacology are investigating ancient herbal remedies and healing techniques and folk medicines.
    — Smithsonian, 19 Dec. 2019
  • It has long been incorporated in folk medicine in China, Korea, Japan and eastern Europe.
    — Molly Glick, Discover Magazine, 18 Mar. 2022
  • The search for alternatives to increasingly resistant infections has led some scientists to ethnopharmacology, the study of folk medicine.
    — Alison MacKey, Discover Magazine, 8 Jan. 2019
  • Traditionally used in folk medicine across Europe, Asia, and Africa, celery has long been valued for its natural healing properties.
    — Hannah Coakley, Msph, Rdn, Verywell Health, 21 Apr. 2025
  • Meanwhile, Leonie’s mother, Mam, lies bedridden, slowly succumbing to cancer; her commitment to voodoo practices and folk medicine are the only thing keeping her tethered to life.
    — Ismail Muhammad, Slate Magazine, 18 Sep. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'folk medicine.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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