1. a harmful effect produced by a substance or treatment that has no inherent therapeutic power, caused by the patient's negative expectations or beliefs
Usage: medical/psychological term; opposite of placebo

Examples

• The nocebo effect caused patients to experience side effects from a sugar pill because they expected to feel ill.
• Doctors must be careful not to trigger a nocebo response by suggesting negative outcomes to their patients.
• Research shows that negative expectations can produce a nocebo effect as powerful as the placebo effect.
• When the patient learned about potential side effects, a nocebo effect made her symptoms worse.
• The nocebo phenomenon demonstrates how much the mind influences physical health outcomes.