placebo effect

[pluh-see-boh]

noun

a reaction to a placebo manifested by a lessening of symptoms or the production of anticipated side effects.

Origin of placebo effect

First recorded in 1945–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for placebo effect

placebo effect

noun

med a positive therapeutic effect claimed by a patient after receiving a placebo believed by him to be an active drugSee control group

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

placebo effect in Medicine

placebo effect

n.

A beneficial effect in a patient following a particular treatment that arises from the patient's expectations concerning the treatment rather than from the treatment itself.