as in breakdown
a mental or nervous collapse
you're going to have a nervous breakdown if you keep up that pace
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of nervous breakdown
Then there was Spark’s nervous breakdown in January 1954.
—
Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2025
Or perhaps Christie had a bout of amnesia or a nervous breakdown and traveled confusedly around England, as many of her biographers and her own doctors have suggested.
—Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 24 July 2025
Maybe Pippa has a nervous breakdown and checks herself into a high-end spa/sanatorium in western Massachusetts.
—John Kenney, New Yorker, 21 July 2025
Her father, Edwin, was a lawyer with a dangerous relationship with booze, and her mother, also named Amelia but called Amy, was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
—Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous breakdown
Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2025
Or perhaps Christie had a bout of amnesia or a nervous breakdown and traveled confusedly around England, as many of her biographers and her own doctors have suggested.
—Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 24 July 2025
Maybe Pippa has a nervous breakdown and checks herself into a high-end spa/sanatorium in western Massachusetts.
—John Kenney, New Yorker, 21 July 2025
Her father, Edwin, was a lawyer with a dangerous relationship with booze, and her mother, also named Amelia but called Amy, was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
—Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous breakdown
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nervous breakdown
breakdown
Noun
-
See video … Tune in to the FOX NEWS RUNDOWN PODCAST for a breakdown on how a new drug pricing deal could cut Medicaid costs and reshape prescription transparency.—
,
FOXNews.com,
1 Oct. 2025
-
The fact Nuno did not have the opportunity to work with his entire squad last summer — only two new additions had arrived in time to join the training camp in Portugal — played a role in the breakdown of his relationship with the Forest hierarchy.—
Paul Taylor,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nervous breakdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nervous%20breakdown. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share