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Definition of depression noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

depression

noun
 
/dɪˈpreʃn/
 
/dɪˈpreʃn/
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  1. [uncountable] a medical condition in which a person feels very sad, anxious and without hope and often has physical symptoms such as being unable to sleep, etc.
    • He was diagnosed as having clinical depression.
    • She suffered from severe depression after losing her job.
    see also postnatal depression, post-partum depression
    Extra Examples
    • He had a family history of depression.
    • Depression does not always have a particular cause.
    • Bereavement can often lead to depression.
    • Depression affects a surprising number of people.
    • She was in a state of acute depression.
    • He's been off work for months with depression.
    • Her depression has lifted now.
    • His wife had left him and he was being treated for depression.
    • She had been receiving medical treatment for depression.
    • She was gradually coming out of her depression.
    • The actor says he suffers frequent bouts of depression.
    • The onset of depression often follows a traumatic event.
    • a new drug used to treat depression
    Topics Mental healthb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • serious
    • severe
    • black
    … of depression
    • bout
    • fit
    • period
    verb + depression
    • develop
    • fall into
    • go into
    depression + verb
    • deepen
    • lift
    • affect somebody
    preposition
    • in depression
    • with depression
    phrases
    • the depths of depression
    • feelings of depression
    • the onset of depression
    See full entry
  2. [uncountable, countable] the state of feeling very sad and without hope
    • There was a feeling of gloom and depression in the office when the news of the job cuts was announced.
    Extra Examples
    • These results should not be a cause for depression.
    • Her mood swung from the depths of depression to coping well.
    • It is easy to slip into a mood of depression.
    • moments of deep depression
    • She fell into a black depression and refused to leave her room.
    • I was in the depths of depression after receiving my exam results.
    • In a fit of depression, she threw away all her books.
    Topics Feelingsb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • serious
    • severe
    • black
    … of depression
    • bout
    • fit
    • period
    verb + depression
    • develop
    • fall into
    • go into
    depression + verb
    • deepen
    • lift
    • affect somebody
    preposition
    • in depression
    • with depression
    phrases
    • the depths of depression
    • feelings of depression
    • the onset of depression
    See full entry
  3. [countable, uncountable] a period when there is little economic activity and many people are poor or without jobs
    • The country was in the grip of (an) economic depression.
    • the Great Depression of the 1930s
    • He grew up during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
    Extra Examples
    • Many people lost their jobs in the Great Depression of the 1930s.
    • The country is experiencing a severe economic depression.
    • periods of severe economic depression
    • The housing market has gone into depression.
    • The depression seems to be deepening.
    Topics Moneyc1, Social issuesc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • great
    • major
    • serious
    verb + depression
    • be in the grip of
    • experience
    • go into
    depression + verb
    • deepen
    preposition
    • during a/​the depression
    • in a/​the depression
    phrases
    • the depths of a depression
    • a period of depression
    See full entry
  4. [countable] (formal) a part of a surface that is lower than the parts around it synonym hollow
    • Rainwater collects in shallow depressions on the ground.
    • From the air, the photos show a shallow depression on the planet's surface.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • shallow
    • slight
    • small
    preposition
    • depression in
    • depression on
    See full entry
  5. [countable] (specialist) a weather condition in which the pressure of the air becomes lower, often causing rain
    • an atmospheric depression moving east from the Atlantic
    compare anticycloneTopics Weatherc2
  6. Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin depressio(n-), from deprimere ‘press down’.
See depression in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee depression in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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adjective
 
 
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