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depressive

UK/dɪˈpɹɛsɪv/US/dɪˈpɹɛsɪv/
adjectiveC2Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #11,005 of 15,258leans written

Depressive means to do with long-lasting lowness of spirits. A depressive illness, depressive episode, depressive symptoms.

It is the clinical adjective and belongs to diagnosis rather than to mood: a depressive episode has a defined length and a defined set of signs. As a noun it names a person, though that use now sounds dated and unkind.

Definitions of depressive

  1. 1adjectivedepressiveTo do with long-lasting lowness of spirits.C2

    “After losing his job, he went through a long depressive period.”

depressive is a quality.

Where it comes from

French depressif comes from Latin deprimere, to press down.

  1. Medieval Latin

    depressivus

  2. French

    dépressif

  3. English, today

    depressive

From French dépressif or Medieval Latin depressivus. by surface analysis, depress + -ive.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

depressive in the wild

  • The treatment of depressive episodes, therefore, is often difficult.

    Bipolar disorder

  • People may also have one or more depressive episodes.

    Bipolar I disorder

  • Major depressive disorder is believed to be caused by a combination of genetic, environmental, and psychological factors, with about 40% of the risk being genetic.

    Major depressive disorder

  • In some cases, more than one mood disorder can be present in an individual, like bipolar disorder and depressive disorder.

    Mood disorder

  • Additionally, depression can be a symptom of some mood disorders, such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and dysthymia.

    Depression (mood)

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.