Florence Nightingale effect

noun

A trope where a caregiver falls in love with their patient, even if very little communication or contact takes place outside of basic care.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounFlorence Nightingale effect (uncountable)
  1. uncountableeconomicsA trope where a caregiver falls in love with their patient, even if very little communication or contact takes place outside of basic care.

Origin

Named after English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing Florence Nightingale.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Florence Nightingale effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Florence%20Nightingale%20effect

MLA

“Florence Nightingale effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Florence%20Nightingale%20effect. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Florence Nightingale effect,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Florence%20Nightingale%20effect.

Source: Florence Nightingale effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.