antidepressant

adjective

an·ti·de·pres·sant | \-di-ˈpre-sᵊnt

Definition of antidepressant

(Entry 1 of 2)

: used or tending to relieve or prevent depression antidepressant drugs

antidepressant

noun

Definition of antidepressant (Entry 2 of 2)

: an antidepressant drug — see ssri, tricyclic antidepressant

Examples of antidepressant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

In interviews, dozens of people who had experienced antidepressant withdrawal recounted similar stories: The drugs often relieved mood problems, at first. — Benedict Carey And Robert Gebeloff, BostonGlobe.com, "Long-term use of antidepressants is surging in the US," 9 Apr. 2018 There’s every reason to think that tinkering with that receptor system could have antidepressant effects, and it’s never been systematically manipulated in that way. — Jacqueline Detwiler, Popular Mechanics, "I Hacked My Body So You Don't Have To," 25 June 2018 In interviews, dozens of people who had experienced antidepressant withdrawal recounted similar stories: The drugs often relieved mood problems, at first. — Benedict Carey And Robert Gebeloff, BostonGlobe.com, "Long-term use of antidepressants is surging in the US," 9 Apr. 2018 In interviews, dozens of people who had experienced antidepressant withdrawal recounted similar stories: The drugs often relieved mood problems, at first. — Benedict Carey And Robert Gebeloff, BostonGlobe.com, "Long-term use of antidepressants is surging in the US," 9 Apr. 2018 In interviews, dozens of people who had experienced antidepressant withdrawal recounted similar stories: The drugs often relieved mood problems, at first. — Benedict Carey And Robert Gebeloff, BostonGlobe.com, "Long-term use of antidepressants is surging in the US," 9 Apr. 2018 In interviews, dozens of people who had experienced antidepressant withdrawal recounted similar stories: The drugs often relieved mood problems, at first. — Benedict Carey And Robert Gebeloff, BostonGlobe.com, "Long-term use of antidepressants is surging in the US," 9 Apr. 2018 In interviews, dozens of people who had experienced antidepressant withdrawal recounted similar stories: The drugs often relieved mood problems, at first. — Benedict Carey And Robert Gebeloff, BostonGlobe.com, "Long-term use of antidepressants is surging in the US," 9 Apr. 2018 In interviews, dozens of people who had experienced antidepressant withdrawal recounted similar stories: The drugs often relieved mood problems, at first. — Benedict Carey And Robert Gebeloff, BostonGlobe.com, "Long-term use of antidepressants is surging in the US," 9 Apr. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

There’s no shortage of interest in the idea: Janssen (JNJ) is testing an esketamine nasal spray, which, when combined with an oral antidepressant, has shown promise in quickly curbing symptoms of serious depression. — Megan Thielking, STAT, "Companies are racing to develop fast-acting depression drugs — but the process is tricky," 3 July 2018 Included among the drugs administered to the children were antidepressant, anti-anxiety, antipsychotic medications such as Clonazepam, Divalproex, Duloxetine, Lithium and Geodon. — William Cummings, USA TODAY, "Migrant children describe abuse, being forcibly medicated at youth shelters," 21 June 2018 His work led to drugs treating Parkinson’s disease and helped pave the way for antidepressants including Prozac. — WSJ, "Arvid Carlsson, Snubbed at University in Sweden, Found a Path to Nobel Prize in Medicine," 13 July 2018 In Cleveland, the generic version of Paxil, the antidepressant, costs about $46.94, while in Columbus, someone would pay $20.87. — Katie Thomas, BostonGlobe.com, "What does a drug cost? It depends on where you live.," 7 July 2018 Steinberg’s team compared women who filled prescriptions for antidepressants to women who did not. — NBC News, "Abortion does not cause depression, new study finds," 30 May 2018 This occurs most commonly among people who've been on their antidepressants for long periods of time. — Korin Miller, SELF, "Yep, It's Possible to Build Up a Tolerance to an Antidepressant," 11 Apr. 2018 And my favorite commercials are the ones for antidepressants, with a voiceover that warns you that the drug can cause mood or behavior changes, anxiety, panic attacks, trouble sleeping, or thoughts of suicide. — Lisa Scottoline, Philly.com, "This is not a joke: The sneakers that order pizza for you | Lisa Scottoline," 7 Mar. 2018 Laughter stimulates a lot of the same chemicals that are stimulated by artificial antidepressant medications. — Susan Dunne, courant.com, "Stressed? Join These Seven As They Laugh It Away At 'Yoga' Class," 27 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'antidepressant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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The first known use of antidepressant was in 1961

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More Definitions for antidepressant

antidepressant

noun

English Language Learners Definition of antidepressant

medical : a drug that is used to relieve or prevent depression in a person

See the full definition for antidepressant in the English Language Learners Dictionary

antidepressant

adjective

an·ti·de·pres·sant | \ˌant-i-di-ˈpres-ᵊnt, ˌan-ˌtī-

variants: also antidepressive \-ˈpres-iv

Medical Definition of antidepressant

(Entry 1 of 2)

: used or tending to relieve or prevent psychological depression : relating to, being, or utilizing an antidepressant an antidepressant drug antidepressant treatment

antidepressant

noun

variants: also antidepressive

Medical Definition of antidepressant (Entry 2 of 2)

: a drug used to treat psychological depression : an antidepressant drug The dual-action antidepressant venlafaxine appears to demonstrate superior efficacy and higher rates of remission in severe depression as compared with either SSRIs such as fluoxetine or tricyclic antidepressants.— John Mann, The New England Journal of Medicine, 27 Oct. 2005

— called also energizer, psychic energizer, psychostimulant

— see tricyclic antidepressant