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placebo

Syllabification: (pla·ce·bo)

Pronunciation: /pləˈsēbō/

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Definition of placebo

noun (plural placebos)

a harmless pill, medicine, or procedure prescribed more for the psychological benefit to the patient than for any physiological effect:his Aunt Beatrice had been kept alive on sympathy and placebos for thirty years [as modifier]:placebo drugs
a substance that has no therapeutic effect, used as a control in testing new drugs.
a measure designed merely to calm or please someone.