OCD

abbreviation or noun

: a chronic disorder characterized by recurrent obsessions or compulsions or both that cause significant distress, are time-consuming, and interfere with normal daily functioning : obsessive-compulsive disorder
The subjects of the experiment were 18 people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)—unwanted and pointless but irresistible intrusive thoughts (e.g., fear of contamination by germs) and repetitive actions (e.g., handwashing or change-counting).The Harvard Medical School Mental Health Letter
OCD is a mental health condition that "involves both obsessions and compulsions that take up a lot of time and get in the way of important activities, such as school, family life, extracurricular activities, developing friendships, and self-care," according to the International OCD Foundation.Sarah D. Collins

Examples of OCD in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web More recently, their uses have been expanded to include mood disorders like depression and other neurological conditions such as Tourette’s syndrome and OCD. Brenda Goodman, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 Some patients even exhibit types of behavior that would fit the characteristics of clinical obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, says Abed Alkareem Asherah, another clinical psychologist working with the program. TIME, 27 Feb. 2024 The National Alliance on Mental Illness connects hoarding with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2024 The private detective battling severe OCD and a range of phobias is returning for Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie, and Peacock has unveiled the first trailer. Dustin Nelson, EW.com, 8 Nov. 2023 And the obscure vampire lore adds color, like the vampiric OCD. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 10 Sep. 2023 These thoughts are similar to obsessions in OCD and are not the same as a desire to hurt the infant. Emily Nadal, Parents, 30 Nov. 2023 For all the non-USA-heads in the readership, Monk was a mystery-of-the-week show in which Shalhoub’s OCD detective solved crimes. Vulture, 8 Nov. 2023 Her center has implanted nine OCD patients with traditional DBS devices that provide steady stimulation. Emily Mullin, WIRED, 30 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'OCD.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“OCD.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/OCD. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

Medical Definition

OCD

abbreviation or noun
: a chronic disorder characterized by recurrent obsessions or compulsions or both that cause significant distress, are time-consuming, and interfere with normal daily functioning : obsessive-compulsive disorder

More from Merriam-Webster on OCD

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