depression - Definition | Dictionary definition of depression

Definition of depression

Nouns

a mental state characterized by a pessimistic sense of inadequacy and a despondent lack of activity

Antonyms:: elation
an exhilarating psychological state of pride and optimism; an absence of depression

Types:: show 8 types...; hide 8 types...; melancholia
extreme depression characterized by tearful sadness and irrational fears; blue devils, blues, megrims, vapors, vapours
a state of depression; blue funk, funk
a state of nervous depression; melancholy
a constitutional tendency to be gloomy and depressed; slough of despond
(formal) extreme depression; low spirits
a state of mild depression; dumps, mopes
an informal expression for a mildly depressed state; dejection
a state of melancholy depression

Type of:: mental condition, mental state, psychological condition, psychological state
(psychology) a mental condition in which the qualities of a state are relatively constant even though the state itself may be dynamic

a long-term economic state characterized by unemployment and low prices and low levels of trade and investment

Synonyms:: economic crisis, slump

Examples:: Great Depression
the economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and continuing through the 1930s

Type of:: crisis
an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty; economic condition
the condition of the economy

a sunken or depressed geological formation

Synonyms:: natural depression

Antonyms:: natural elevation
a raised or elevated geological formation; elevation; show more antonyms...

Examples:: show 16 examples...; hide 16 examples...; Aristarchus
a bright crater on the Moon; Copernicus
a conspicuous crater on the Moon; Lowlands of Scotland
the southern part of Scotland that is not mountainous; Atacama Trench
a depression in the floor of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile; Bougainville Trench
a depression in the floor of the Pacific Ocean between New Guinea and the Solomon Islands; Japan Trench
a depression in the floor of the Pacific Ocean to the northeast of Japan that reaches depths of 30,000 feet; Nares Deep
a depression in the floor of the Atlantic Ocean to the north of Haiti and Puerto Rico; Nemea
a valley in southeastern Greece where the Nemean Games were held; Loire Valley
the valley of the Loire River where many French wines originated; San Fernando Valley
a fertile valley in southern California to the north of Los Angeles; includes many residential communities; San Joaquin Valley
a vast valley in central California known for its rich farmland; Shenandoah Valley
a large valley between the Allegheny Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Virginia; site of numerous battles during the American Civil War; Cataract Canyon
a tributary of the Grand Canyon; Grand Canyon
the enormous gorge of the Colorado River in northern Arizona; Olduvai Gorge
a gorge in northeastern Tanzania where anthropologists have found some of the earliest human remains; Great Rift Valley
( geology) a depression in southwestern Asia and eastern Africa; extends from the valley of the Jordan River to Mozambique; marked by geological faults

Types:: show 34 types...; hide 34 types...; basin
a natural depression in the surface of the land often with a lake at the bottom of it; cirque, corrie, cwm
a steep-walled semicircular basin in a mountain; may contain a lake; saltpan
a shallow basin in a desert region; contains salt and gypsum that was deposited by an evaporated salt lake; tidal basin
a basin that is full of water at high tide; bed, bottom
a depression forming the ground under a body of water; lake bed, lake bottom
the bottom of a lake; Davy Jones, Davy Jones's locker, ocean bottom, ocean floor, sea bottom, sea floor, seabed
the bottom of a sea or ocean; river bottom, riverbed
a channel occupied (or formerly occupied) by a river; creek bed, streambed
a channel occupied (or formerly occupied) by a stream; crater
a bowl-shaped depression formed by the impact of a meteorite or bomb; collector
a crater that has collected cosmic material hitting the earth; lunar crater
a crater on the Earth's Moon; hole, hollow
a depression hollowed out of solid matter; burrow, tunnel
a hole made by an animal, usually for shelter; gopher hole
a hole in the ground made by gophers; kettle, kettle hole
(geology) a hollow (typically filled by a lake) that results from the melting of a mass of ice trapped in glacial deposits; cavity, pit
a sizeable hole (usually in the ground); chuckhole, pothole
a pit or hole produced by wear or weathering (especially in a road surface); rabbit burrow, rabbit hole
a hole in the ground as a nest made by wild rabbits; wormhole
hole made by a burrowing worm; lowland
low level country; landfill
a low area that has been filled in; sink, sinkhole, swallow hole
a depression in the ground communicating with a subterranean passage (especially in limestone) and formed by solution or by collapse of a cavern roof; deep, oceanic abyss, trench
a long steep-sided depression in the ocean floor; trough
a narrow depression (as in the earth or between ocean waves or in the ocean bed); swale
a low area (especially a marshy area between ridges); vale, valley
a long depression in the surface of the land that usually contains a river; dale
an open river valley (in a hilly area); glen
a narrow secluded valley (in the mountains); gully
deep ditch cut by running water (especially after a prolonged downpour); holler, hollow
a small valley between mountains; nullah
a ravine or gully in southern Asia; ravine
a deep narrow steep-sided valley (especially one formed by running water); rift valley
a valley with steep sides; formed by a rift in the earth's crust

Type of:: formation, geological formation
(geology) the geological features of the earth

sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy

Types:: show 6 types...; hide 6 types...; demoralisation, demoralization
depression resulting from an undermining of your morale; helplessness
a feeling of being unable to manage; despondence, despondency, disconsolateness, heartsickness
feeling downcast and disheartened and hopeless; oppression, oppressiveness
a feeling of being oppressed; weight
an oppressive feeling of heavy force; dysphoria
abnormal depression and discontent

Type of:: sadness, unhappiness
emotions experienced when not in a state of well-being

an air mass of lower pressure; often brings precipitation

Synonyms:: low

Type of:: air mass
a large body of air with uniform characteristics horizontally

a state of depression and anhedonia so severe as to require clinical intervention

Synonyms:: clinical depression, depressive disorder

Types:: show 11 types...; hide 11 types...; agitated depression
a state of clinical depression in which the person exhibits irritability and restlessness; anaclitic depression
severe and progressive depression in infants who lose their mother and do not get a suitable substitute; dysthymia, dysthymic depression
mild chronic depression; endogenous depression
a state of depression for which there is no apparent precipitating cause; exogenous depression, reactive depression
an inappropriate state of depression that is precipitated by events in the person's life (to be distinguished from normal grief); major depressive episode
(psychiatry) a state of depression with all the classic symptoms (anhedonia and lethargy and sleep disturbance and despondency and morbid thoughts and feelings of worthlessness and sometimes attempted suicide) but with no known organic dysfunction; involutional depression
a major depressive episode associated with the climacteric; unipolar depression
a major depressive episode that occurs without the manic phase that occurs in the classic form of bipolar disorder; neurotic depression
a term used for any state of depression that is not psychotic; psychotic depression
a state of depression so severe that the person loses contact with reality and suffers a variety of functional impairments; retarded depression
a state of clinical depression in which the individual is lethargic and slow to initiate action

Type of:: affective disorder, emotional disorder, emotional disturbance, major affective disorder
any mental disorder not caused by detectable organic abnormalities of the brain and in which a major disturbance of emotions is predominant

a concavity in a surface produced by pressing

Synonyms:: impression, imprint

Types:: show 23 types...; hide 23 types...; dimple
a small natural hollow in the cheek or chin; channel, groove
a long narrow furrow cut either by a natural process (such as erosion) or by a tool (as e.g. a groove in a phonograph record); dado
a rectangular groove cut into a board so that another piece can fit into it; flute, fluting
a groove or furrow in cloth etc (particularly a shallow concave groove on the shaft of a column); quirk
a narrow groove beside a beading; rabbet, rebate
a rectangular groove made to hold two pieces together; track
a groove on a phonograph recording; rut
a groove or furrow (especially one in soft earth caused by wheels); stria, striation
any of a number of tiny parallel grooves such as: the scratches left by a glacier on rocks or the streaks or ridges in muscle tissue; washout
the channel or break produced by erosion of relatively soft soil by water; dimple
any slight depression in a surface; dip
a depression in an otherwise level surface; dent, incision, prick, scratch, slit
a depression scratched or carved into a surface; score, scotch
a slight surface cut (especially a notch that is made to keep a tally); droop, sag
a shape that sags; crease, crinkle, furrow, line, seam, wrinkle
a slight depression in the smoothness of a surface; crow's feet, crow's foot, laugh line
a wrinkle in the skin at the outer corner of your eyes; dermatoglyphic
the lines that form patterns on the skin (especially on the fingertips and the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet); frown line
a facial wrinkle associated with frowning; life line, lifeline, line of life
a crease on the palm; its length is said by palmists to indicate how long you will live; heart line, line of heart, love line, mensal line
a crease on the palm; palmists say it indicates your emotional nature; line of Saturn, line of destiny, line of fate
a crease on the palm; palmists say it indicates how successful you will be; chap, crack, cranny, crevice, fissure
a long narrow depression in a surface