depressive
Americanadjective
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tending to cause depression.
depressive environmental factors.
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characterized by depression, especially mental depression.
noun
adjective
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tending to depress; causing depression
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psychol tending to be subject to periods of depression See also manic-depressive
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of depressive
Vocabulary lists containing depressive
Psychological Conditions and Disorders
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Psychology
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Among children whose mothers had a history of major depressive disorder, growing depressive symptoms were associated with increased attention to sad faces.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 17, 2026
People with a bipolar disorder diagnosis more commonly experience depressive episodes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
The new study is the first to examine how depressive symptoms and attention biases may influence one another over time in children.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 17, 2026
But in the 1985 novel told from his point of view, he’s reborn as a rock star, emerging from a long, depressive slumber just in time to seduce the MTV generation.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
The added depressive effect of the organic phosphate may then be enough to precipitate acute symptoms.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
