mental

¹ American  

[men-tl] / ˈmɛn tl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the mind.

   mental powers;

   mental suffering.

2. of, relating to, or affected by a disorder of the mind.

   a mental patient;

   mental illness.

3. providing care for persons with disordered minds, emotions, etc..

   a mental hospital.

4. performed by or existing in the mind.

   mental arithmetic;

   a mental note.

5. pertaining to intellectuals or intellectual activity.

6. Informal. slightly daft; out of one's mind; crazy.

   He's mental.

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noun

1. Informal. a person with a psychological disorder.

   a fascist group made up largely of mentals.

mental ² American  

[men-tl] / ˈmɛn tl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the chin.

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mental ¹ British  

/ ˈmɛntəl /

adjective

1. of or involving the mind or an intellectual process

2. occurring only in the mind

   mental calculations

3. Preferred form: psychiatric.  affected by mental illness

   a mental patient

4. Preferred form: psychiatric.  concerned with care for persons with mental illness

   a mental hospital

5. slang insane

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mental ² British  

/ ˈmɛntəl /

adjective

1. Also: genial.  anatomy of or relating to the chin

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Usage

What does mental mean? Mental is an adjective that means relating to the mind. It is especially used in contrast with physical, which means relating to the body. Mental is commonly used in the context of psychological disorders or the care and treatment of people who have them. One of its most common uses is in the phrase mental health. Mental is sometimes used as a slang term with the same meaning as the informal sense of crazy, especially in the U. K. It’s typically used to describe a person or their behavior as being extreme or illogical in some way. Keep in mind, however, that when used in this way, words like crazy and mental may reinforce harmful stereotypes and associations with mental illness. Example: To be an elite athlete, you have to be physically strong, but you also have to perfect the mental aspects of your game.

Other Word Forms

• mentally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of mental¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin mentālis, equivalent to Latin ment- (stem of mēns ) mind + -ālis -al ¹

Origin of mental²

First recorded in 1720–30; from Latin ment(um) “the chin” ( see mentum) + -al ¹

Explanation

The adjective mental describes anything having to do with the mind, just as "physical" has to do with the body. Mental has to do with the intellect, the mind, or the brain. There's a history of mental illness in that family, which is interesting because physically they're all so amazing. Makes you wonder why they did so well in one department but not the other. Some argue that standardized tests are no measure of your mental abilities. All they do is tell you how well you did on the test. That would be like testing your emotional depth based on how tightly you hug people. A person's mental gifts are difficult to measure.

Example Sentences

It’s the California Mental Health Services Act, which voters passed in 2004.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

Mental and physical exhaustion can make big swings seem like the answer.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 29, 2026

New federal legislation, known as the Mental Health in Aviation Act, would require the FAA to implement the remaining recommendations, train more medical examiners and raise awareness about mental health in the industry.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

Mental sharpness refers to how clear, focused, and efficient a person's thinking is at any given time.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026

They took her to the State Mental Hospital at Kalamazoo.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Related Words

• cerebral
• intellectual
• psychiatric
• subjective