MEANING
Having a beneficial effect, especially by improving judgment, behavior, or an unhealthy situation.
Use it for
describing a warning that improves judgment; identifying a beneficial correction; showing that an unwelcome experience has useful consequencesIdentifies a beneficial, often corrective effect rather than merely describing a pleasant experience. Academic functions: Significance / Scope, Analysis / Interpretation.
Words that belong together
- salutary effect
- salutary lesson
- salutary reminder
On the page
The failed pilot provided a salutary reminder that participation rates alone do not measure effectiveness.
For the literary critic, the competing interpretation offers a salutary challenge to an overly tidy reading.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- salutary
Usage notes
Adjective: a salutary effect or lesson. More salutary and most salutary are natural when comparing benefits; no invented -er or -est forms. Register: formal. Commonness: uncommon (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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