antidepressant
Americanadjective
noun
-
antidepressants
plural
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of antidepressant
First recorded in 1960–65; anti- + depressant
Explanation
An antidepressant is a drug used to treat depression. Unfortunately, many antidepressants have unwanted side effects. Depression is a form of extreme sadness, when you're so sad that it impairs your ability to function. Words starting with anti are the opposite or go against other things. Antidepressants, then, are drugs that fight depression. If you’re depressed, a doctor can prescribe an antidepressant such as Prozac or Zoloft. Antidepressants can improve your mood, but they often have side effects such as weight gain or headaches.
Vocabulary lists containing antidepressant
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.
See Examples For:
Both Kimberley and Jacqui were prescribed various antidepressant medications over the years to little or no benefit - but never asked if they had experienced mania until they reached the point of hospitalisation.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
The pharmaceutical company was tangled in a public dispute over the allegedly harmful side effects of Prozac, its popular antidepressant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
A widely available antidepressant may provide meaningful relief for people experiencing persistent fatigue from long COVID, according to a global clinical trial co-led by McMaster University.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
A new study finds no evidence that antidepressant medications cause autism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
She recommended that he get a prescription for an antidepressant.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
She had struggled with her mental health since she was a teenager and hoped being prescribed antidepressants would improve things.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Jair Bolsonaro is currently on antidepressants and is "stable," according to the latest medical reports, although his wife, Michelle, has said that the elections have made him "a bit anxious."
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
And singing along with them can be one of the more effective natural and entirely free antidepressants around.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
A doctor prescribed him antidepressants and antianxiety medication, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
They’d brought her to a shelter, where she’d been showered, fed, prescribed antidepressants, and released three weeks later.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
