mentally ill

adjective

1. having a mental illness.

noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. Usually the mentally ill mentally ill persons collectively.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mentally ill¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

In 1811, Saxony’s king converted it into a model asylum for the mentally ill, and for many years it was.

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The homeless live on street corners and subway cars, and one never knows when someone who’s mentally ill will strike in violence.

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But critics say the program, which pairs licensed specialists with officers in unmarked cars, is failing in the crucial initial minutes of encounters when multiple police shootings of mentally ill people have occurred.

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From our 21st century perspective, they both have a right to be mad and they both might be mentally ill.

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But some of his constituents view him as too developer-friendly for his housing policies and have criticized his past policies around expanding conservatorships for mentally ill people.

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