Placebo

Definition of placebo in English:

noun (plural placebos)

1A medicine or procedure prescribed for the psychological benefit to the patient rather than for any physiological effect.

Example sentences

1.1A substance that has no therapeutic effect, used as a control in testing new drugs.

Example sentences

1.2A measure designed merely to humour or placate someone: pacified by the placebos of the previous year, they claimed a moral victory More example sentences 

 placebo effect Line breaks: pla|cebo ef¦fect

Definition of placebo effect in English:

noun

A beneficial effect produced by a placebo drug or treatment, which cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself, and must therefore be due to the patient’s belief in that treatment: orthodox doctors dismiss the positive results as a result of the placebo effect

Origin
 A placebo (/pləˈsiboʊ/ plə-SEE-boh; Latin placēbō, "I shall please"^[2] from placeō, "I please")[