sugar pill

noun

Definition of sugar pill

: a pharmacologically inert pill : placebo

Examples of sugar pill in a Sentence

Half the patients were given the medication and the other half received a sugar pill.

Recent Examples on the Web

At first the health minister, Agnès Buzyn, seemed to accept the case that patients who pop sugar pills might cut down on antibiotics and other pharmacology, which the French notoriously overconsume. — The Economist, "French authorities dilute homeopaths’ profits," 18 July 2019 At best, counterfeit medications aren’t what they are supposed to be, like sugar pills. — Sumathi Reddy, WSJ, "The Uphill Fight Against Fake Prescription Drugs," 8 Oct. 2018 More broadly, the placebo trial, in which some patients receive a sugar pill or solution, is ill-suited to many situations. — Kate Bachelder Odell, WSJ, "When Medical Innovation Meets Politics," 24 Aug. 2018 Over the years, taking a sugar pill, receiving a sham injection, or even just visiting a doctor has been shown to reduce pain, lower blood pressure, and relieve depression. — Jacqueline Detwiler, Popular Mechanics, "I Hacked My Body So You Don't Have To," 25 June 2018 Birth control taken continuously, meaning no sugar pills during your period, can really make your hormones haywire. — Sarah Hosseini, Good Housekeeping, "Just Because You Can't See My Endometriosis Doesn't Mean It's Not There," 12 Mar. 2016 Screenings of the classic 1931 version of Dracula included nurses in the theater and a dose of ‘nerve tonic’ (sugar pills) before the film, Clepper writes in a paper for Film History. — Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, "The Hair-Raising Gimmicks of the Abominable Showman," 31 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sugar pill.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.