This week's theme: lesser-known counterparts of common words. nocebo (no-SEE-bo) noun
A substance producing harmful effects in someone because it is believed to be harmful, but which in reality is harmless. [From Latin nocebo (I will harm), from nocere (to harm). Modeled after placebo (I will please).] An article with many interesting examples of nocebo effect: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A2709-2002Apr29 -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "Both groups who received nocebos showed elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their blood." James Morgan; Is Your Pain a Trick of the Mind? The Herald (Glasgow, UK); Jan 12, 2007. A few messages from our sponsors: You can check in, but you can't check out http://nthposition.com/checkinginchecking.php See a map of your word in the Visual Thesaurus. Wordsmith readers save 10%. Try it free! http://www.visualthesaurus.com/?ad=aw&code=h7q Why's "Think Better" becoming a best seller? Because those who read it say it actually helps them think more creatively. http://tenkaizen.com "Sexy" & "fun" are two words describing Wife Goes On, a novel by Leslie Lehr Read the raves at http://wife-goes-on.com. Here's to living happIER ever after! ............................................................................ I would rather try to persuade a man to go along, because once I have persuaded him he will stick. If I scare him, he will stay just as long as he is scared, and then he is gone. -Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. general and 34th president (1890-1969) Share the magic of words. Send a gift sub: http://wordsmith.org/awad/gift.html Remove, change, or subscribe address: http://wordsmith.org/awad/subscriber.html Pronunciation: http://wordsmith.org/words/nocebo.wav http://wordsmith.org/words/nocebo.ram Permalink: http://wordsmith.org/words/nocebo.html This message was sent to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]".
