Health Literacy Thesaurus: Medical terms, phrases, references,
and their Plain English equivalents or definitions

N (narcotic - nutritious)

Step 1: Click "Next" to show the term, phrase, or reference. Step 2: Click "Next" again
to show the Plain English equivalent or definition; Repeat Steps 1 and 2. (Best viewed on Firefox or Chrome)
narcoticaddictive pain medicine, drug
nebulizermachine that turns liquid asthma medicine into mist
negligentcareless, lax, not careful
neonatal deathinfant death, death in the first seven days of life
neonatalnewborn
nephrologystudy of kidney problems
neuraminidaseenzyme on the surface of the virus
neuritisswelling of a nerve
neurologicrelating to the nervous system, brain or spinal cord
neurologicalrelated to the brain and nervous system
neurologystudy of the nervous system
neuropathydisease of the nervous system
neutralizecancel, stop, offset
nominalsmall, not important, token, cheap, not costly
Nonpharmaceutical interventionways to stop the spread of illness without drugs, such as hand washing, covering sneezes, closing schools, etc.
nosocomialan infection you can catch in the hospital
notificationnotice
nutritionfood, meal, diet, healthy food
nutritiouswholesome, food that is good for you, healthy eating, healthy food

Source: CDC Plain Language Thesaurus for Health Communications. Other related materials: Vaccines & Immunizations Glossary; Harvard School of Public Health "Plain Language Glossaries" for asthma, arthritis, and lupus; Medical Library Association "Deciphering Medspeak" for diabetes, stroke, and HIV-AIDS


Exercises created by Atty. Gerry T. Galacio based on copyrighted materials available on the Internet. You can use these exercises only on a personal, educational, and non-commercial basis; you must not upload these exercises and resources to an intranet, to a website, or to the cloud. For comments, questions, or corrections, email gtgalacio@yahoo.com

 

Exercises created with freeware Hot Potatoes v. 6.3 from the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada.

 

Free seminar-workshops on English proficiency and on photojournalism for Metro Manila schools: email gtgalacio@yahoo.com or text 0927-798-3138

 

Family Matters (complete text of the Family Code of the Philippines; frequently asked questions; relevant laws like RA 9262; legal procedures and Rules of Court)

 

Legal Updates (in-depth discussions of issues affecting the Filipino family, legal procedures, support, inheritance, etc.): Plain Language / Plain English for government offices, private companies, schools, and organizations; Clear, concise English for effective legal writing; Legal procedures in civil and criminal cases; Heirs and inheritances

Better English resources and exercises (free resources on grammar, pronunciation, spelling, writing, vocabulary, idioms, reading comprehension, public speaking, etc.); Related website: Interactive English grammar and vocabulary exercises based on Korean historical dramas such as A Jewel In The Palace, Dong Yi, Jumong, Empress Ki, Moonlight Drawn by Clouds (Love In The Moonlight), etc.

 

Be a better writer or editor through StyleWriter 4: this software checks 10,000 words in 12 seconds for hundreds of style and English usage issues like wordy and complex sentences, passive voice, nominalization, jargon, clichés, readability, spelling, etc. StyleWriter 4 has a graded 200,000 word and phrase dictionary, covering most of the words you will ever use in writing.

 

StyleWriter 4 is widely used in the US federal government (for example, Environmental Protection Agency). It is used in banks, law offices, and by professionals from various fields. It is fully customizable and comes with three versions: USA, UK, and Australian. StyleWriter 4 can edit memos, articles, essays, business letters, speeches, thesis, dissertations, books (fiction or non-fiction), and all kinds of corporate communications.