depression

depression

noun

Definition of DEPRESSION

1

a period of decreased economic activity <during the 1930s the U.S. suffered a great depression>

Synonyms recession, slump

Related Words bust, crash, panic; stagnation; downbeat, downdraft, downswing, downtrend, downturn, slowdown

Near Antonyms development, growth; advancement, progress; rally, recovery

Antonyms boom

2

a state or spell of low spirits <we threw our friend a party just to jar him out of his depression>

Synonyms blue devils, blues, dejection, depression, desolation, despond, despondence, despondency, disconsolateness, dispiritedness, doldrums, dolefulness, downheartedness, dreariness, dumps, forlornness, gloom, gloominess, glumness, heartsickness, joylessness, melancholy, miserableness, mopes, mournfulness, oppression, sorrowfulness, unhappiness

Related Words melancholia, self-pity; anguish, dolor, grief, mourning, somberness, sorrow, woefulness; agony, distress, pain; misery, woe, wretchedness; discouragement, disheartenment; moodiness; despair, desperation, hopelessness, self-despair; boredom, ennui, tedium; dismalness, drear, morbidness, moroseness, morosity; regret, rue

Near Antonyms gaiety (also gayety), gayness, glee, gleefulness, humor, jollity, joviality, lightheartedness, merriment, mirth, mirthfulness; cheer, cheerfulness, cheeriness, hopefulness, optimism, sunniness; content, contentedness, contentment, satisfaction; delight, gratification

Antonyms bliss, blissfulness, ecstasy, elatedness, elation, euphoria, exhilaration, exuberance, exultation, felicity, gladness, gladsomeness, happiness, heaven, intoxication, joy, joyfulness, joyousness, jubilation, rapture, rapturousness

3

a sunken area forming a separate space <the water generally collects in the patchwork of depressions in the city plaza>

Synonyms cavity, concavity, dent, depression, dint, hollow, indentation, indenture, pit, recess

Related Words burrow, cave, cavern, ditch, excavation, furrow, groove, gutter, trench, trough; basin, bowl, valley; alcove, cleft, niche, nook, opening, recess, socket; alveolus, dimple, gouge, impression, imprint, notch, pocket; borehole, chuckhole, crater, posthole, pothole, sinkhole, wallow, water hole, well; abyss, chasm, gulf, vacuity, vacuum, void

Near Antonyms hill, mound, rise; bump, bunch, hump, lump, pimple, swell, swelling, tumor

Antonyms bulge, camber, convexity, jut, projection, protrusion, protuberance

4

the amount by which something is lessened <a depression in the number of new homes being built>

Synonyms abatement, decline, decrement, dent, depletion, depression, diminishment, diminution, drop, drop-off, fall, falloff, loss, reduction, shrinkage, step-down

Related Words deduction, subtraction; downturn, slip, slump; curtailment, cut, cutback, retrenchment, shortening

Near Antonyms accretion, accrual, accumulation, addition, supplement; continuation, extension; upswing, uptrend, upturn

Antonyms boost, enlargement, gain, increase, increment, raise, rise, step-up, uptick