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clinical depression

clinical depression

8 3.9
A serious mental illness doctors diagnose that causes long deep sadness and loss of interest and often needs treatment
  • noun
  • /ˈklɪnɪkəl dɪˈprɛʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : depresión clínica
  • After struggling for months, she finally sought help for her clinical depression from a mental health professional.
  • symptoms of clinical depression
  • clinical depression and anxiety
  • clinical depression and grief

Yeah, I think waking up was was tough because I didn't want to face a day when the doctor said that this is clinical depression.

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Examples

  • For patients whose demoralization and hopelessness have become overwhelming, social workers should recommend psychiatric consultation for clinical depression.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Mrs. Murrow had long suffered bouts of clinical depression.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Roughly one in five people will develop major or clinical depression after the loss of a loved one.

    Blog text (5)
  • Lincoln likely would have been diagnosed with clinical depression if he were alive today.

    Blog text (1)
  • I'm under treatment for clinical depression; I take medication for clinical depression.

    Blog text (8)
  • Dan, I was homeless at the time thanks to clinical depression and generalized anxiety disorder.

    Blog text (8)
  • Thus, it may be concluded that elevated BDI scores may reflect both clinical depression and grief.

    Academic text (1996)
  • In one study, over 40% experienced clinical depression, with some 12% experiencing moderate to severe depression (Mearns, 1991).

    Academic text (2009)
  • My radical outlook eventually rendered me an outcast, and my sadness over my crippled existence developed into clinical depression.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Not normal stress or necessary stress, but chronic stress—chronic anxiety or clinical depression.

    Academic text (2010)

Synonyms

depression
vsclinical depression
  • Specialized
61 3.7

A long lasting medical illness of deep sadness that needs treatment by a doctor

is the clinically diagnosed version emphasizing need for professional treatment
depressive disorder
vsclinical depression
  • Specialized
3 4.8

Long periods of deep sadness and loss of interest that make daily life hard and often need medical help

is the common clinical phrase for the same diagnosed illness
major depressive episode
vsclinical depression
  • Specialized
1 6.1

A period of severe sadness and loss of interest that makes daily life hard

is the ongoing diagnosed disorder rather than a single symptomatic period

Antonyms

joy
793 1.0

A strong feeling of great happiness

178 2.4

A state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy

How Severe

major depressive episode
  • Specialized
1 6.1
clinical depression
  • Specialized
8 3.9
low
336 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

clinical + depression

The phrase is a straightforward modifier + noun combination: 'clinical' (medical/related to clinical practice) narrows 'depression' to the medically diagnosed disorder rather than casual sadness. This compositional meaning is common cross-linguistically and is directly derivable by a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Clinical depression comes from clinical, meaning seen in a doctor's 'clinic', and depression, meaning a deep 'low mood' or feeling pressed down. So, it refers to a medical condition a doctor can diagnose when someone has a long, serious low mood.