# placebo

/pɫəˈsiboʊ/ (US) · /pləsˈiːbəʊ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/placebo
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. medical treatment

noun · CEFR B2 · Technical

a pill or treatment that has no medicine in it, used in medical tests to compare with a real drug.

For teachers: an inert substance or procedure administered to a patient or research subject, serving as a control in clinical trials to isolate the effects of an active drug.

- Half of the people in the study received the new medicine, while the others were given a placebo.
- To ensure the validity of the clinical trial, the researchers conducted a double-blind study where neither the doctors nor the patients knew who received the placebo.

Usage: Often used in the phrase 'placebo effect' to describe when a patient feels better simply because they expect to.

### 2. religious service

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Formal

a specific prayer service or song for the dead in the Catholic Church.

For teachers: the vespers in the Office of the Dead, named after the opening word of the first antiphon.

- The monks gathered in the chapel to sing the Placebo for the departed brother.
- The historical manuscript contains the full musical notation for the Placebo as it was performed in the fourteenth century.

Usage: Usually capitalized in liturgical contexts.

## Examples

- Half of the patients in the study received a placebo.
- Researchers found that the group taking the placebo reported fewer headaches, likely due to the psychological relief of being treated.
- The ethical dilemma of prescribing a placebo in clinical practice remains a subject of debate, as it involves balancing the potential for psychological healing against the requirement for patient transparency.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.