antidepressant

[an-tee-di-pres-uh nt, an-tahy-]Pharmacology

adjective

of or relating to a substance that is used in the treatment of mood disorders, as characterized by various manic or depressive affects.

noun

Also called energizer, psychic energizer. any such substance, as a tricyclic antidepressant, MAO inhibitor, or lithium.

Also an·ti-de·pres·sant, an·ti·de·pres·sive [an-tee-di-pres-iv, an-tahy-] /ˌæn ti dɪˈprɛs ɪv, ˌæn taɪ-/.

Origin of antidepressant

First recorded in 1960–65; anti- + depressant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for antidepressants

Contemporary Examples of antidepressants

SSRIs are the most widely prescribed class of antidepressants.
Robin Williams’ Deadly Depression
Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Tej Azad
August 12, 2014
In a turn that vindicates Aldous Huxley, one in ten Americans ingests their daily Soma supplement in the form of antidepressants.
New Year’s Reading List: Books to Transform Your Sad Life
David Masciotra
January 1, 2014
Jacintha, 46, spent days in intensive care and was put on a course of antidepressants for nine months.
Tragic Kate Middleton Nurse Had Made Two Previous Suicide Attempts
Tom Sykes
December 24, 2012
Many of those who die have alcohol, antidepressants, and/or pain medications in their bloodstreams at death.
Death of Kate Middleton Nurse Shows How Humiliation Can Lead to Suicide
Kent Sepkowitz
December 10, 2012
The self on antidepressants becomes the only self they know.
America’s Zoloft Problem: A Generation Grows Up With Antidepressants
Cara Spitalewitz
July 15, 2012

Historical Examples of antidepressants

The main advantage of ECT is that it acts much faster than any of the antidepressants.
When You Don't Know Where to Turn
Steven J. Bartlett

British Dictionary definitions for antidepressants

antidepressant

noun

any of a class of drugs used to alleviate depression

adjective

of or relating to this class of drugs

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for antidepressants