manic-depressive
2
7.7
- adjective
- /ˈmænɪk dɪˈprɛsɪv/
- Archaic
:
maníaco-depresivo
- She is manic-depressive.
- manic-depressive disorder
- manic-depressive illness
- bipolar or manic-depressive
Examples
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Such luminaries as Ernest Hemingway, Vincent Van Gogh, Winston Churchill, and Robert Schumann were probably manic-depressive.
Academic text (1994) -
I believe him to be manic-depressive.
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What a manic-depressive life you lead.
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She's manic-depressive.
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My father's father was a manic-depressive; his mood swings were legendary, the household perpetually caught between the thunder of his passions and the gray spaces of his despair.
Fiction book (1997) -
The artist struggled with being manic-depressive, often experiencing intense highs and lows in her mood.
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After years of treatment, he learned to manage his manic-depressive condition with therapy and medication.
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People who are manic-depressive may have episodes of extreme energy followed by deep periods of sadness.
Synonyms
56
6.3
Connected to a mental illness with very high and very low moods
Surface Forms
Morphology
manic-depressive = manic + depressive (transparent) = manic + depressive
The compound is a straightforward combination of 'manic' and 'depressive', so its meaning (alternating mania and depression) is directly inferable from the parts.
Etymology
Manic-depressive comes from two parts: manic, from Greek mania meaning 'very high energy or excitement', and depressive, made of de- 'down' plus press 'push' meaning 'pushed down'. So the word describes a condition that swings between very high and very low moods.