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battle fatigue

American  
[bat-l fuh-teeg] / ˈbæt l fəˌtig /

noun

Psychiatry.
  1. a post-traumatic stress disorder occurring among soldiers engaged in active combat, characterized by excessive autonomic arousal, psychic numbing, and persistent reliving of traumatic experiences.


battle fatigue British  

noun

  1. Also called: combat fatigue. psychol a type of mental disorder, characterized by anxiety, depression, and loss of motivation, caused by the stress of active warfare See also shell shock

"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

Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of battle fatigue

First recorded in 1940–45


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:

Shell shock went by other names in later wars, such as battle fatigue and, today, post-traumatic stress disorder.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

“The members had battle fatigue or something, I guess,” Green told a reporter in 1970.

From Slate ● Dec. 21, 2021

Among doctors and nurses, a sense of battle fatigue has set in.

From New York Times ● Oct. 27, 2020

The battle fatigue that I have described in hospital staff is also apparent among the general public.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2020

He decided against it, dismissing the words as crazy talk, amounting to nothing more than battle fatigue.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

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