placebo

3 definitions • 2 examples

a substance given to someone who is told that it is a particular medicine, either to make that person feel as if they are getting better or to compare the effect of the particular medicine when given to others:

She was only given a placebo, but she claimed she got better - that's the placebo effect.

something that is given to try to satisfy a person who has not been given the thing they really want:

These small concessions have been made as a placebo to stop the workers making further demands.

a substance that is not medicine, but that is given to someone who is told that it is a medicine, used to test the effect of a drug or to please a patient