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definitions

depressive

[dih-pres-iv]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR depressive ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

tending to depress.
characterized by depression, especially mental depression.

noun

a person suffering from a depressive illness.

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RELATED WORDS

onerous, overbearing, dictatorial, unjust, inhuman, cruel, brutal, depressing, burdensome, heavy-handed, tyrannical, harsh, funereal, melancholy, solemn, dull, dark, earnest, gloomy, weighty

Nearby words

  1. depressed skull fracture,
  2. depressing,
  3. depression,
  4. depression glass,
  5. depression, great,
  6. depressively,
  7. depressomotor,
  8. depressor,
  9. depressor fiber,
  10. depressor muscle of angle of mouth

Origin of depressive

First recorded in 1610–20; depress + -ive
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for depressive

British Dictionary definitions for depressive

depressive

adjective

tending to depress; causing depression
psychol tending to be subject to periods of depressionSee also manic-depressive
Derived Formsdepressively, adverbdepressiveness, noun
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 depressive

depressive

adj.

1610s, from Latin depress-, past participle stem of deprimere (see depress) + -ive. In psychology, from 1905.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for depressive

depressive

[dĭ-prĕs′ĭv]

adj.

Tending to depress or lower.
Depressing; gloomy.
Of or relating to psychological depression.

n.

A person suffering from psychological depression.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.