antidepressant
Americanadjective
noun
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:
The strongest effect appeared when researchers combined isosteviol, a sweetener used by the food and beverage industry, with the antidepressant duloxetine.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
Named after the antidepressant medication, the song tackles mental health and masculinity.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
“Our findings do not provide strong evidence that prenatal antidepressant exposure causes neurodevelopmental disorders.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
On the surface level, it sounds nice to tell people that it’s better to try talk therapy and regular exercise than an antidepressant.
From Salon ● May 18, 2026
They’ve upped his antidepressant, which doesn’t seem to make him any less depressed, but helps him to forget that he is.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
She is now getting divorced and taking antidepressants.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Even in that group, the human findings were observational and could not establish that antidepressants directly caused earlier disease progression.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
Their idols have become their guests: Clarkson talked about starting antidepressants while going through a divorce.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
Loneliness, isolation from family, and depression can be particularly devastating for the elderly, and antidepressants only go so far.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
On the seventh day, Dr. Janeway released me from Quiet Oaks under strict orders to continue taking my antidepressants.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
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.
