nocebo
noun
Did you know?
Nocent has been in the English language as a word for "harmful" since the 15th century. It comes from Latin nocēre, meaning "to harm." Latin nocebo is a close relative that means "I will be harmful" and that contrasts with placebo, meaning "I shall please." People in medicine began using "placebo" for inert preparations prescribed solely for a patient's mental relief, and not for relieving a disorder, in the late 18th century. As doctors began to observe the effects of placebos, some noticed that the harmless preparations actually sometimes caused detrimental effects on the patient's health. English speakers began using the word nocebo for substances causing such adverse reactions in patients in 1961.
Example Sentences
Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 19 Jan. 2022 Hudson says there may be a placebo effect available to marathoners who believe strongly in the benefits of a training volume reduction, but the current narrative seems more likely to produce the opposite effect on performance, a nocebo. Leo Spall, Outside Online, 11 Oct. 2019 Whereas a placebo is an inert substance that exerts a beneficial effect, a nocebo is an inert substance that exerts an unpleasant effect. Richard Klasco, New York Times, 1 June 2018 About 5 percent developed myalgias while taking the statin atorvastatin (brand name Lipitor), and about half that many developed myalgias while taking placebo, or more precisely, nocebo. Richard Klasco, New York Times, 1 June 2018 Word History
borrowed from Latin nocēbō "I will harm" (1st person person singular of nocēre "to damage, harm"), on the model of placebo — more at noxious
1961, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing nocebo
Medical Definition
nocebo
noun