short-acting

adjective

Having a pharmaceutical effect principally in the short term.

“Short-acting insulin is maximally effective for one to three hours.”

Opposite
long-acting
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Meanings

adjectiveshort-acting (comparative shorter-acting, superlative shortest-acting)

comparative shorter-acting · superlative shortest-acting

  1. medicineHaving a pharmaceutical effect principally in the short term.

    Short-acting insulin is maximally effective for one to three hours.

    1 more example

    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 194

    Antonyms: long-acting

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveHaving a pharmaceutical effect principally in the short term.

Opposite
long-acting

Translations

Bulgarian действащ кратко време
  • действащ кратко време (dejstvašt kratko vreme)having a pharmaceutical effect in the short term
Finnish lyhytvaikutteinen
  • lyhytvaikutteinenhaving a pharmaceutical effect in the short term
German kurzwirksam
  • kurzwirksamhaving a pharmaceutical effect in the short term
Korean 속효성
  • 속효성 (sokhyoseong)having a pharmaceutical effect in the short term
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: short-acting on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.