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

---

Other Word Forms

• battle-fatigued
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of battle fatigue

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

To that point, racial battle fatigue has been shown to lead to premature aging through epigenetic processes.

From Salon • Aug. 9, 2025

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

The way she sees it, those who came before her — those who called it shell shock and battle fatigue — made it OK for her to seek help.

From New York Times • Oct. 22, 2021

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