antidepressant
Americanadjective
noun
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of antidepressant
First recorded in 1960–65; anti- + depressant
Explanation
An antidepressant is a drug used to treat depression. Unfortunately, many antidepressants have unwanted side effects. Depression is a form of extreme sadness, when you're so sad that it impairs your ability to function. Words starting with anti are the opposite or go against other things. Antidepressants, then, are drugs that fight depression. If you’re depressed, a doctor can prescribe an antidepressant such as Prozac or Zoloft. Antidepressants can improve your mood, but they often have side effects such as weight gain or headaches.
Vocabulary lists containing antidepressant
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.
See Examples For:
They also do not justify stopping or changing antidepressant treatment without guidance from a prescribing clinician.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
Named after the antidepressant medication, the song tackles mental health and masculinity.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
A new study finds no evidence that antidepressant medications cause autism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
On the surface level, it sounds nice to tell people that it’s better to try talk therapy and regular exercise than an antidepressant.
From Salon ● May 18, 2026
Dill finally had health insurance and was able to see a real therapist and get on a good antidepressant medication.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
She is now getting divorced and taking antidepressants.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
A doctor prescribed him antidepressants and antianxiety medication, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
In the small pilot study, researchers tested whether tocilizumab, a drug commonly prescribed for inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, could ease depression symptoms in patients who had not improved with standard antidepressants.
From Science Daily ● May 28, 2026
Multiple studies since then have also identified a correlation between a woman’s use of antidepressants during pregnancy and her child’s later diagnosis of autism, and to a lesser extent, ADHD.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
Dr. Howell says antidepressants can do that sometimes, dull the memory, plus I was pretty little at the time anyway.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
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.
