depressive
Americanadjective
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tending to cause depression.
depressive environmental factors.
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characterized by depression, especially mental depression.
noun
adjective
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tending to depress; causing depression
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psychol tending to be subject to periods of depression See also manic-depressive
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of depressive
Vocabulary lists containing depressive
Psychological Conditions and Disorders
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Psychology
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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.
It is also alleged that Rees suffered psychiatric injury "diagnosed... as a depressive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder".
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
People with a bipolar disorder diagnosis more commonly experience depressive episodes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
But in the 1985 novel told from his point of view, he’s reborn as a rock star, emerging from a long, depressive slumber just in time to seduce the MTV generation.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
One bacterium in particular, Morganella morganii, has been linked in several studies to major depressive disorder.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2026
"I'll be depressive soon enough, but while you eat your candy just allow me to chew the rag; there's a kind of substance in it."
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
