placebo
placebo — 名詞
1. a pill, injection, or other treatment that contains no real drug, given either t
安慰劑
不含藥效、用於對照或安撫病人的藥物
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.
Dr. Tanaka 一半的志願者服用新型止痛藥，其餘的人則拿到安慰劑。
passive: be given a placebo in a clinical trial
The sugar tablets worked as a placebo and helped Marcus sleep through the night.
那些糖片發揮了安慰劑的效果，幫助 Marcus 一覺到天亮。
function as a placebo
Researchers at the hospital compared the new asthma drug against a placebo for six months.
醫院的研究人員把這款新氣喘藥和安慰劑比較了六個月。
Lina did not know that her daily blue capsule was actually a placebo.
Lina 並不知道她每天吃的藍色膠囊其實是安慰劑。
Doctors sometimes prescribe a placebo when a patient insists on taking medicine for a minor complaint.
當病人為了小毛病堅持吃藥時，醫師有時會開立安慰劑。
- 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
敷衍之物
用來敷衍、無法真正滿足需求的東西
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.
對於航班被取消的旅客來說，那杯免費咖啡只不過是個敷衍之物。
a placebo for [disappointed group]
Critics said the small pay rise was a placebo, since nurses had asked for safer working hours.
批評者表示這點微薄的加薪只是個敷衍之物，因為護理師要的是更安全的工時。
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.
動物園之行取消後，Aunt Rosa 拿冰淇淋當作敷衍之物哄孩子。
The mayor's promise of a new park felt like a placebo to families still waiting for a school.
對仍在等待新學校的家庭來說，市長承諾蓋一座新公園感覺像是個敷衍之物。
- 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.