nocebo

nocebo — noun

1. a harmful physical or emotional reaction that occurs when a person expects a tre

1.名詞C2
釋義

a harmful physical or emotional reaction that occurs when a person expects a treatment to cause problems rather than help them — the negative counterpart of the placebo effect.

例句

Hui was told the pill might cause headaches, and she soon developed a nocebo reaction.

Though the cream had no active ingredients, Élise's nocebo response made her skin feel irritated.

nocebo response triggered by an inactive substance

同義詞
  • negative placebo effect

    more descriptive but less concise; used mainly in introductory or explanatory writing

  • nocebo effect

    the full form of the term; interchangeable in most contexts and preferred in formal academic writing

  • expectation-induced symptom

    broader in scope — covers symptoms from any expectation, not only treatment-related ones

反義詞
  • placebo effect

    the opposite phenomenon: improvement in symptoms caused by positive expectations about a treatment

文法句型

the nocebo effect

nocebo response

nocebo reaction

用法筆記

Frequently discussed in medical contexts involving informed consent and communication of side effects. The nocebo effect is the negative counterpart of the placebo effect — it describes harm caused by negative expectations rather than by the treatment itself.

常見錯誤

❌The nocebo effect is when a patient gets worse.
✅The nocebo effect is a harmful reaction caused by negative expectations about a treatment.
💡'is when' is vague; define the phenomenon directly.
❌I had a nocebo yesterday.
✅I experienced the nocebo effect after reading the list of possible side effects.
💡'nocebo' alone is not idiomatic for a personal experience; the full term 'nocebo effect' or 'nocebo response' is standard.