nonsurgical

N1O1N1S1U1R1G2I1C3A1L1

adjective

Being medical treatment that does not involve surgery, such as use of drugs or physical therapy.

“He desperately tried anything to treat his cancer while avoiding surgery; every nonsurgical technique under the sun: chemotherapy, radiation, weird diets...”

Similar
nonoperativemedical[Appendix:Glossary
Opposite
surgicaloperative
OriginEnglish surgical ← Middle English cirurgical ← Middle French cirurgica →
UncommonScrabble 14
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Meanings

adjectivenonsurgical (not comparable)
  1. not comparableBeing medical treatment that does not involve surgery, such as use of drugs or physical therapy.

    He desperately tried anything to treat his cancer while avoiding surgery; every nonsurgical technique under the sun: chemotherapy, radiation, weird diets...

    1 more example

    Gone is the era of the cookie-cutter, ski jump nose. Today’s cosmetic doctors are approaching rhinoplasties with a more artistic, individualized approach, using new surgical and nonsurgical techniques to refine rather than revamp one of the most prominent features of the face.

    2020 December 8, Tatiana Boncompagni, “The New Nose: Is the Bump Back?”, in The New York Times

    Synonyms: nonoperative, medical[Appendix:Glossary · Antonyms: surgical, operative

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveBeing medical treatment that does not involve surgery, such as use of drugs or physical therapy.

Similar
nonoperativemedical[Appendix:Glossary
Opposite
surgicaloperative

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivenot surgical

Opposite
surgical
Also see
medicalnonoperative

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Germanic*ne
  3. Proto-Indo-European*ís?
  4. Proto-Indo-European*h₁óynos
  5. Proto-Germanic*ainaz
  6. Proto-Germanic*nainaz
  7. Proto-West Germanic*nain
  8. Old Englishnān
  9. Middle Englishnon
  10. Old Englishnān
  11. Old Englishnān-
  12. Middle Englishnon-
  13. Englishnon-
  14. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰes-
  15. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰésōr
  16. Proto-Hellenic*kʰéhər
  17. Ancient Greekχείρ (kheír)
  18. Proto-Indo-European*werǵ-
  19. Proto-Indo-European*worǵós
  20. Proto-Hellenic*worgós
  21. Ancient Greekχειρουργός (kheirourgós)
  22. Ancient Greekχειρουργῐκός (kheirourgĭkós)
  23. Late Latinchīrurgicus
  24. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  25. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  26. Medieval Latincirurgicālis
  27. Middle Frenchcirurgica
  28. Middle Englishcirurgical
  29. Englishsurgical
  30. Englishnonsurgical

From non- + surgical.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

nonsurgical. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonsurgical

MLA

“nonsurgical.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonsurgical. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nonsurgical,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nonsurgical.

Source: nonsurgical on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.