Nocebo

Pronunciation

• RP enPR: nōsē′bō, IPA: /nəʊˈsiːbəʊ/
• GA enPR: nōsē′bō, IPA: /noʊˈsiboÊŠ/
• Hyphenation: no + ce + bo

Origin

, the form of noceō ("I harm"), by analogy with placebo. The word was coined by Walter P. Kennedy in a 1961 article entitled “The Nocebo Reaction” (see quotation).

Full definition of nocebo

Noun

1. (pharmacology, also attributive) A substance which a patient experiences as harmful due to a previous negative perception, but which is in fact pharmacologically (medicinally) inactive. from 1961
• 1961, Walter P. Kennedy, The Nocebo Reaction, It is somewhat surprising that little attention has been drawn to the existence of the contrary effect the placebo â€“ which I may call the nocebo reaction.
• 25 April 2009, Stuart Blackman, Why health warnings can be bad, In the case of the nocebo, it is negative expectations that become self-fulfilling prophecies.
• 15 May 2014, Jennifer Welsh, Researchers who Provided Key Evidence for Gluten Sensitivity have now Thoroughly Shown that It Doesn’t Exist, It seems to be a "nocebo" effect â€“ the self-diagnosed gluten sensitive patients expected to feel worse on the study diets, so they did.

Antonyms

• placebo

Derived terms

• nocebo effect

Further reading