placebo

[pluh-see-boh, plah-chey-boh]

noun

plural

placebos, placeboes 

1. Medicine/Medical, Pharmacology.

   1. a substance having no pharmacological effect but given merely to satisfy a patient who supposes it to be a medicine.

   2. a substance having no pharmacological effect but administered as a control in testing experimentally or clinically the efficacy of a biologically active preparation.

2. Roman Catholic Church.,  the vespers of the office for the dead: so called from the initial word of the first antiphon, taken from Psalm 114:9 of the Vulgate.

placebo

/ pləˈsiːbəʊ /

noun

1. med an inactive substance or other sham form of therapy administered to a patient usually to compare its effects with those of a real drug or treatment, but sometimes for the psychological benefit to the patient through his believing he is receiving treatment See also control group placebo effect

2. something said or done to please or humour another

3. RC Church a traditional name for the vespers of the office for the dead

placebo

1. A substance containing no medication and prescribed to reinforce a patient's expectation of getting well or used as a control in a clinical research trial to determine the effectiveness of a potential new drug.

placebo

1. A substance containing no active drug, administered to a patient participating in a medical experiment as a control.

Those receiving a placebo often get better, a phenomenon known as the placebo effect.

Word History and Origins

Origin of placebo¹

1175–1225 placebo for def. 2; 1775–85 placebo for def. 1; Middle English < Latin placēbō “I shall be pleasing, acceptable”

Word History and Origins

Origin of placebo¹

C13 (in the ecclesiastical sense): from Latin Placebo Domino I shall please the Lord (from the opening of the office for the dead); C19 (in the medical sense)

Example Sentences

Some 473 patients were enrolled in the first of the Phase 3 studies and received either ulixacaltamide or a placebo for 12 weeks.

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Because the study included a control group that underwent a simulated treatment, researchers were able to clearly separate genuine treatment effects from placebo responses, which are common in osteoarthritis trials.

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They found the urine albumin level was 55% lower in those taking baxdrostat than in those taking a placebo, comparable to the reduction seen with medications that delay the progression of kidney disease.

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One, from 2016, studied 48 autistic children in the US and found improvements in verbal communication compared with a placebo.

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“The placebo effect can also be very powerful, especially for treatments that require significant effort and cost.”

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