mental
1 Americanadjective
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of or relating to the mind.
mental powers;
mental suffering.
-
of, relating to, or affected by a disorder of the mind.
a mental patient;
mental illness.
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providing care for persons with disordered minds, emotions, etc..
a mental hospital.
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performed by or existing in the mind.
mental arithmetic;
a mental note.
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pertaining to intellectuals or intellectual activity.
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Informal. slightly daft; out of one's mind; crazy.
He's mental.
noun
adjective
adjective
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of or involving the mind or an intellectual process
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occurring only in the mind
mental calculations
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Preferred form: psychiatric. affected by mental illness
a mental patient
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Preferred form: psychiatric. concerned with care for persons with mental illness
a mental hospital
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slang insane
adjective
Usage
What does mental mean? Mental is an adjective that means relating to the mind. It is especially used in contrast with physical, which means relating to the body. Mental is commonly used in the context of psychological disorders or the care and treatment of people who have them. One of its most common uses is in the phrase mental health. Mental is sometimes used as a slang term with the same meaning as the informal sense of crazy, especially in the U. K. It’s typically used to describe a person or their behavior as being extreme or illogical in some way. Keep in mind, however, that when used in this way, words like crazy and mental may reinforce harmful stereotypes and associations with mental illness. Example: To be an elite athlete, you have to be physically strong, but you also have to perfect the mental aspects of your game.
Other Word Forms
- mentally adverb
Etymology
Origin of mental1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin mentālis, equivalent to Latin ment- (stem of mēns ) mind + -ālis -al 1
Origin of mental2
First recorded in 1720–30; from Latin ment(um) “the chin” ( mentum ) + -al 1
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.
Randolph’s Nile & Co. acquired As/Is, a BuzzFeed channel that focused on body positivity, and Goodful, which covered “all things mental health, clean eating, and well-being,” from the beleaguered digital media company late last year.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
He shook his head as though he were running through a mental inventory.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
Other A-Street investments include Great Minds, a curriculum provider behind such programs as Eureka Math; youth mental health startup Cartwheel Care; and AI-powered early reading platform LitLab.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
She said: "The family weren't pleased at all but they had a softer approach towards Violet partly because... she had mental health problems but she was also an incredibly intelligent woman."
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
Aural transmission also enhances brain function since memorization is essential, along with mental mapping of melodies and rhythms.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
