Meanings
comparative longer-acting · superlative longest-acting
- medicineHaving a pharmaceutical effect principally in the long term.
I have tried all the medium and short acting non-barbiturate sedatives since the war (including thalidomide) but they don’t work and I don’t trust the newfangled long acting, “safe” analgesics.
1988, E[dward] J[ames] Moran Campbell, Not Always on the Level, [London]: British Medical Journal, →ISBN, page 194Antonyms: short-acting
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveHaving a pharmaceutical effect principally in the long term.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveactive over a long period of time
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Cite this entry
long-acting. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/long-acting
“long-acting.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/long-acting. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “long-acting,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/long-acting.
Source: long-acting on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.