tricyclic antidepressant drug
1
6.8
- noun
- /ˌtraɪˈsaɪklɪk ˌæntiˈdɪprɛsənt drʌg/
- Specialized
:
medicación antidepresiva tricíclica
- The use of tricyclic antidepressant drugs has declined since the introduction of SSRIs.
Examples
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The doctor prescribed a tricyclic antidepressant drug for her depression.
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Many patients with chronic depression respond well to tricyclic antidepressant drugs.
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Doctors may prescribe tricyclic antidepressant drugs for certain types of nerve pain as well as depression.
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Many patients find tricyclic antidepressant drugs effective.
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Doctors often prescribe a tricyclic antidepressant drug to patients who have not responded to other treatments for depression.
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One common tricyclic antidepressant drug is amitriptyline, which helps increase serotonin levels in the brain.
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Patients taking a tricyclic antidepressant drug should be aware of potential side effects, such as dry mouth and drowsiness.
Synonyms
61
3.4
A medicine that treats depression by changing chemicals in the brain
3
3.2
A medicine that treats depression by changing chemicals in the brain
1
5.8
A medicine that treats depression by raising levels of mood chemicals in the brain
A medicine used to treat depression that raises some brain chemicals
Surface Forms
Morphology
tricyclic + antidepressant + drug
The phrase is fully compositional: 'tricyclic' modifies 'antidepressant' and 'drug', so a B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings can infer it refers to a type/class of medication used to treat depression (specifically the tricyclic class). The structure (adjective + noun + noun) and the logical stacking of category words make the overall meaning predictable and transparent.
Etymology
Tricyclic antidepressant drug gets its name from the medicine's shape: tri- means three and cyclic means ring, so the medicine is built from 'three rings'. They help certain 'mood chemicals' stay longer in the brain to lift mood and treat depression, so the name points to this group of older antidepressant medicines.