|—n , pl -bos, -boes|
|1.||med control group See also placebo effect 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|
|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|
|[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)]|
placebo pla·ce·bo (plə-sē'bō)
n. pl. pla·ce·bos or pla·ce·boes
|placebo (plə-sē'bō) Pronunciation Key
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.
A substance containing no active drug, administered to a patient participating in a medical experiment as a control.
Note: Those receiving a placebo often get better, a phenomenon known as the placebo effect.