placebo
/pləˈsiːbəʊ/ (bre, ipa) · /pləˈsiːbəʊ/ (ame, ipa) · /plə-ˈsē-(ˌ)bō/ (ame, mw)
placebo — noun
- placebosingular
- placebosplural
1. a pill, injection, or other treatment that contains no real drug, given either t
a pill, injection, or other treatment that contains no real drug, given either to a patient who believes it is genuine medicine or to one group in a study so that doctors can compare the results with people who took the actual drug.
Half of Dr. Tanaka's volunteers took the new pain pill; the rest were given a placebo.
passive: be given a placebo in a clinical trial
The sugar tablets worked as a placebo and helped Marcus sleep through the night.
function as a placebo
Researchers at the hospital compared the new asthma drug against a placebo for six months.
Lina did not know that her daily blue capsule was actually a placebo.
Doctors sometimes prescribe a placebo when a patient insists on taking medicine for a minor complaint.
- sugar pill
informal everyday term for the same idea, often used in news writing
- dummy pill
informal; common in clinical-trial reporting
- control treatment
technical term used in research design
- active drug
the real medicine that contains the working ingredient being tested
文法句型
a placebo of [substance]
given a placebo
用法筆記
Frequently appears with verbs like 'give', 'receive', 'take', 'prescribe', and 'compare against'. In medical writing the typical phrase is 'placebo-controlled trial', meaning a study where one group secretly takes a placebo.
常見錯誤
2. something offered to calm or please someone after their real wish has been refus
something offered to calm or please someone after their real wish has been refused, so the person feels looked after even though the underlying request has not been met.
The free coffee was just a placebo for passengers whose flights had been cancelled.
a placebo for [disappointed group]
Critics said the small pay rise was a placebo, since nurses had asked for safer working hours.
X was a placebo (in place of real change)
Aunt Rosa offered the children ice cream as a placebo after the zoo trip was cancelled.
The mayor's promise of a new park felt like a placebo to families still waiting for a school.
- sop
formal; a small concession given to silence complaints
- token gesture
neutral; emphasises smallness rather than dishonesty
- consolation
wider term — anything given to comfort someone who has lost out
- real solution
an action that actually meets the underlying demand
文法句型
a placebo for [someone]
merely a placebo
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this figurative use is never about real medicine. The thing offered (a gift, a small concession, a promise) is real, but it is too small to satisfy the genuine need. Often modified by 'just', 'merely', or 'only' to underline that the gesture is not enough.