Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nocebo

/noʊˈsi.boʊ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.51 in modern English

Syllables: no-ce-bo
IPA: /noʊˈsi.boʊ/

10

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

3

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A substance which a patient experiences as harmful due to a previous negative perception, but which is in fact pharmacologically (medicinally) inactive.

Example Sentences

"It is somewhat surprising that little attention has been drawn to the existence of the contrary effect [to the placebo] – which I may call the nocebo reaction."
"In the case of the nocebo, it is negative expectations that become self-fulfilling prophecies."
"It seems to be a "nocebo" effect – the self-diagnosed gluten sensitive patients expected to feel worse on the study diets, so they did."
"If there's one lesson to be drawn from the nocebo effect, it's that ideas are never merely ideas. […] Maybe you see where I'm going with this: our grim view of humanity is also a nocebo."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin nocēbō (“I will harm”), the first-person singular future active indicative form of noceō (“to harm”), by analogy with placebo. The word was coined by Walter P. Kennedy in an article entitled “The Nocebo Reaction” (1961). (see quotation).

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: *neḱ-, nocēbō

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /noʊˈsi.boʊ/
British English: /nəʊˈsiː.bəʊ/

Inflected Forms

nocebos (plural)

Phrases

nocebo effect

Frequently Paired Words

drug placebo

Rhymes With

placebo igbo gazebo

Questions

How do you pronounce nocebo?: The recorded pronunciation is /noʊˈsi.boʊ/.
What does nocebo mean?: A substance which a patient experiences as harmful due to a previous negative perception, but which is in fact pharmacologically (medicinally) inactive.
Where does nocebo come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce nocebo

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “nocebo”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/noʊˈsi.boʊ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “nocebo”.
Repeat and practice — Say “nocebo” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.