compos mentis

[kohm-pohs men-tis, kom-puhs men-tis]

adjective

Latin.

1. sane; mentally sound (used especially in a legal context).

compos mentis

/ ˈkɒmpəs ˈmɛntɪs /

adjective

1. (postpositive) of sound mind; sane

Word History and Origins

Origin of compos mentis¹

Literally, “being in full possession of one's mind”

Example Sentences

This isn’t much of a burden, but it will stop ballots from being mailed to people who might have moved away or no longer be compos mentis.

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But prosecutors said he might not be “compos mentis,” or fully sane.

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“What she did was engage with veterans when they were still alive and compos mentis,” Hew Strachan, a noted British military historian, said in an interview.

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And a president who was compos mentis never would have made the nonsensical claim that the United States had more covid-19 cases than other countries only because we did more testing.

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"And I had a man standing over me with a flashlight until about 3am to make sure I was compos mentis."

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