bipolar disorder

noun

: any of several psychological disorders of mood characterized usually by alternating episodes of depression and mania

called also bipolar illness, manic depression

Examples of bipolar disorder in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Internal documents showed that the trial, which ran from 1996 to 1998, aimed to disseminate marketing messages through the medical literature and encourage clinicians to prescribe the drug off-label for conditions it was not approved for, such as neuropathic pain and bipolar disorder. —Sukhun Kang, The Conversation, 6 May 2026

Assertive Community Treatment, or ACT, had for decades sought to find and help treat people suffering from conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. —Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 4 May 2026

In contrast to many other fields, psychiatry still diagnoses complex conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism solely through clusters of behavioral symptoms observed in clinical settings. —Eric J. Nestler, STAT, 28 Apr. 2026

Today, doctors consider schizophrenia and bipolar disorder as the two chief categories of severe mental illness; the first ravages the mind, the second the emotions. —Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bipolar disorder

• boarder
• border
• corder
• order
• warder
• camcorder
• recorder
• reorder
• suborder
• transborder

Kids Definition

bipolar disorder

noun

: any of several psychological disorders of mood characterized by alternating episodes of depression and mania

Medical Definition

bipolar disorder

noun

: any of several mood disorders characterized usually by alternating episodes of depression and mania

Note: The mania experienced in bipolar disorder may be of the euphoric or irritable type or both.

called also bipolar affective disorder, bipolar illness, manic depression, manic-depressive illness

compare major depressive disorder