This week’s theme
There’s an antonym for it

This week’s words
eustress
nullibiety
excarnation
dysphemism
nocebo

This week’s comments
AWADmail 898

Next week’s theme
Shakespearean insults

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(no-SEE-bo)

MEANING:

noun: A substance producing harmful effects in someone because it is believed to be harmful, but which in reality is harmless.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin nocebo (I will harm), from nocere (to harm). Modeled after its antonym placebo (I will please). Earliest documented use: 1961.

USAGE:

“As Geoff Watts shows, the nocebo’s impact can be very harmful. Maybe it’s because fear is more powerful than hope.”
Gillian Reynolds; Radio: Review Pick of the Week; The Daily Telegraph (London, UK); Feb 14, 2015.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: