placebo
noun
pla·ce·bo
| \ plə-ˈsē-(ˌ)bō
\
\
plural placebos
Definition of placebo
1a
: a usually pharmacologically inert preparation prescribed more for the mental relief of the patient than for its actual effect on a disorder
b
: an inert or innocuous substance used especially in controlled experiments testing the efficacy of another substance (such as a drug)
2
: something tending to soothe
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Examples of placebo in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The usual way is to vaccinate one group of people, inject a placebo in a comparable group, and see whether the vaccinated group stays healthy. — BostonGlobe.com, "Why aren’t there any vaccines?," 12 Sep. 2019 This might have been placebo, and gauged against the rush of an energy drink or a venti-size cup of Starbucks coffee, the effects were wanting. — Richard Cooke, The New Republic, "The conservative commentariat’s love affair with nootropics," 3 Sep. 2019 In the group that was given a placebo, 1,016 patients died; of those who had taken the aspirin, only 804 died. — Hannah Fry, The New Yorker, "What Statistics Can and Can’t Tell Us About Ourselves," 2 Sep. 2019 Several years before the analysis of insurance claims data, Pfizer provided Enbrel at no cost for a six-month clinical trial studying treatment in 41 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s (20 who received the drug, 21 who received a placebo). — Washington Post, The Denver Post, "Colorado Alzheimer’s researchers shift focus after failures; begin testing leukemia medicine as treatment," 6 July 2019 For the study, healthy, young participants consumed 32 ounces of one of two types of energy drinks or a caffeine-free, stimulant-free placebo. — Cynthia Sass, Mph, Health.com, "Energy Drinks May Cause Heart Problems—Here’s How to Get a Natural Boost Instead," 4 June 2019 Results showed that, during the study year, there were 23 percent fewer new cases of skin cancer in the group that got niacinamide (336 cancers) compared to those who got the placebo (463 cancers). — A.a. Newton, SELF, "Here’s What Niacinamide Can—and Can’t—Do for Your Skin," 8 May 2019 But the clinical studies that have been done compare it with a placebo, not even a pain reliever like ibuprofen. — Peter B. Bach, WSJ, "If Weed Is Medicine, So Is Budweiser," 17 Jan. 2019 Neither 100 mg nor 900 mg, nor the placebo, had any effect. — Dan Nosowitz, Vox, "The super-popular cannabis compound, explained.," 1 Nov. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'placebo.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for placebo
placebo
noun
English Language Learners Definition of placebo
medical
: a pill or substance that is given to a patient like a drug but that has no physical effect on the patient
See the full definition for placebo in the English Language Learners Dictionary
placebo
noun
pla·ce·bo
| \ plə-ˈsē-(ˌ)bō
\
\
plural placebos
Medical Definition of placebo
1
: a usually pharmacologically inert preparation prescribed more for the mental relief of the patient than for its actual effect on a disorder
2
: an inert or innocuous substance used especially in controlled experiments testing the efficacy of another substance (as a drug)
Keep scrolling for more