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definitions

manic-depressive

[man-ik-di-pres-iv]Psychiatry.
See more synonyms for manic-depressive on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. suffering from bipolar disorder.
noun
  1. a person suffering from this disorder.

Origin of manic-depressive

First recorded in 1900–05
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for manic-depressive

insane, unhinged, mental, demented, mad, schizophrenic, crazy, lunatic, nuts, sick, psycho, manic-depressive, distracted, psychopathic, unbalanced, certifiable

Examples from the Web for manic-depressive

Contemporary Examples of manic-depressive

  • Saint Laurent was at his best a genius, and at his worst a manic-depressive genius.

    The Daily Beast logo
    Remembering YSL's Muse

    Alice Cavanagh

    November 7, 2011

Historical Examples of manic-depressive

  • Aye, prodigious—and dangerous in his manic-depressive state.

    Walls of Acid

    Henry Hasse

  • The cases in this family seem all to be instances of manic-depressive insanity.

    Being Well-Born

    Michael F. Guyer

  • Such is our view of the etiology of manic-depressive insanity as a whole.

    Benign Stupors

    August Hoch

  • Occasionally it shows, superficially, a similarity to the manic-depressive type.

    Benign Stupors

    August Hoch

  • A book on "the psychology of manic-depressive insanity" will shortly appear by the editor.

    Benign Stupors

    August Hoch

British Dictionary definitions for manic-depressive

manic-depressive

adjective
  1. denoting a mental disorder characterized either by an alternation between extreme euphoria and deep depression (bipolar manic-depressive disorder or syndrome) or by depression on its own or (rarely) by elation on its own (unipolar disorder)
noun
  1. a person afflicted with this disorderCompare cyclothymia
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
manic-depressive in Medicine

manic-depressive

adj.
  1. Of, relating to, or affected by bipolar disorder.
n.
  1. A person who is afflicted with bipolar disorder.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.