nocebo

[noˈseβ̞o]

/[noˈseβ̞o]/ noun

The verdict

“nocebo” is uncommon Spanish (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency Spanish
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Substancia farmacológicamente inerte que, al administrarla a un sujeto -racional o irracional- quien por considerarla medicamento suscita en él reacciones perjudiciales, desagradables e indeseables...

Corpus desk

Index ES-nocebo · nocebo · Spanish

nocebo · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "N" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for nocebo
PropertyValue
Headwordnocebo
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[noˈseβ̞o]
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “nocebo” en español

nocebono entra en el top 100.000 del español: zona de términos técnicos, arcaicos o escasos, el terreno típico de la doble comprobación.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

nocebo is uncommon Spanish outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [noˈseβ̞o]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Substancia farmacológicamente inerte que, al administrarla a un sujeto -racional o irracional- quien por considerarla medicamento suscita en él reacciones perjudiciales, desagradables e indeseables...".

nocebo has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct Spanish form is nocebo, spelled N-O-C-E-B-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Substancia farmacológicamente inerte que, al administrarla a un sujeto -racional o irracional- quien por considerarla medicamento suscita en él reacciones perjudiciales, desagradables e indeseables, como consecuencia de expectativas pesimistas al atribuirle esos efectos adversos.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how nocebo appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. En el lenguaje común, se utiliza de forma sinónima «placebo» y sustancia inactiva. Por ejemplo, el Diccionario de la Lengua Española de la Real Academia Española define placebo como «sustancia que, careciendo por sí misma de acción terapéutica, produce algún efecto curativo en el enfermo si este la recibe convencido de que esa sustancia posee realmente ta…

Antonyms

placebo

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "nocebo"?
"nocebo" is spelled N-O-C-E-B-O. The IPA pronunciation is [noˈseβ̞o].
What does "nocebo" mean?
As a noun, "nocebo" means: Substancia farmacológicamente inerte que, al administrarla a un sujeto -racional o irracional- quien por considerarla medicamento suscita en él reacciones perjudiciales, desagradables e indeseables...
How do you pronounce "nocebo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nocebo" is [noˈseβ̞o]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nocebo" come from?
"nocebo" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list