Meanings
nounplacebology (uncountable)
- uncountablemedicineThe study of placebos and placebo effects, especially of their applications in medicine and science.
So Kaptchuk had what may sound like the craziest idea in all of crazy placebology. What would happen if we gave patients a placebo—and told them it was a placebo?
2023 July 21, What if Placebos ARE the Medicine? (Unsung Science), season 2, episode 15, David Pogue (actor), CBS News
Origin
By surface analysis, placebo + -ology.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
placebology. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/placebology
MLA
“placebology.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/placebology. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “placebology,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/placebology.
Source: placebology on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.