decompensation

[dee-kom-puh n-sey-shuh n]

noun

Medicine/Medical. the inability of a diseased heart to compensate for its defect.

Psychology. a loss of ability to maintain normal or appropriate psychological defenses, sometimes resulting in depression, anxiety, or delusions.

Origin of decompensation

First recorded in 1900–05; de- + compensation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for decompensation

Contemporary Examples of decompensation

And a decompensation occurred, which resulted in his putting on the suit of The Conservative.
Broadway's Comeback Kid
Kevin Sessums
November 2, 2011

Historical Examples of decompensation

Digitalis, when the cardiac tone is low and decompensation is present.
Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension:
Louis Marshall Warfield

British Dictionary definitions for decompensation

decompensation

noun

pathol inability of an organ, esp the heart, to maintain its function due to overload caused by a disease

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 decompensation

1900, from de- + compensation.

decompensation in Medicine

decompensation

[dē′kŏm-pən-sā′shən]

n.

Failure of the heart to maintain adequate blood circulation, marked by labored breathing, engorged blood vessels, and edema.

The appearance or exacerbation of a mental disorder due to failure of defense mechanisms.