A drug’s ability to suppress physical manifestations of substance dependence produced by another drug and to maintain the physically dependent state. It provides the rationale for the treatment of dependence on one substance (e.g., alcohol) by short-term substitution of a less dangerous and more controllable substance that is cross-dependent with that substance (e.g., the use of librium [chlordiazepoxide] to treat alcohol withdrawal symptoms).
In pharmacology, a condition in which one drug can prevent withdrawal symptoms associated with physical dependence on a different drug.