clinical depression

noun

: a serious mood disorder involving one or more episodes of intense psychological depression or loss of interest or pleasure that lasts two or more weeks and is accompanied by irritability, fatigue, poor concentration, sleep disturbances, weight gain or loss, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, and sometimes suicidal tendencies : major depression, major depressive disorder

Mild depression is a normal condition, a sadness brought on by life's circumstances. Clinical depression, on the other hand, is a sadness so deep that it can lead to suicide if left untreated.

—Brenda Lane Richardson

Examples of clinical depression in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Despite her success, Hidalgo has been battling clinical depression and experienced suicidal thoughts that led her to check herself into an inpatient treatment center in Ohio in July. —Ed O'Keefe, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2023

The law does not differentiate between mental illnesses that can be ameliorated with medication, such as schizophrenia, bipolar and clinical depression, and those that are incurable, such as dementia. —Jessica Wapner, Scientific American, 15 Aug. 2023

The study included 32 adults with clinical depression. —Aria Bendix, NBC News, 13 Feb. 2024

Also, for the first time, lifetime rates of clinical depression among Black and Hispanic adults matched or surpassed the rate among White adults. —Deidre McPhillips, CNN, 17 May 2023

Fetterman was discharged in March from inpatient treatment for clinical depression. —Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 1 Jan. 2024

As a student journalist, Milligan traveled to Amble in 1987 for an audio documentary that focused on clinical depression and swimming with dolphins. —Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 20 Sep. 2023

Tatlock had suffered from clinical depression and her death was ruled a suicide. —Megan McCluskey, Time, 21 July 2023

Studies point out that people with clinical depression tend to hunch more than those who don’t. —Thessaly La Force, Vogue, 18 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

clinical depression

noun

: a serious mood disorder involving one or more episodes of intense psychological depression or loss of interest or pleasure that lasts two or more weeks and is accompanied by irritability, fatigue, poor concentration, sleep disturbances, weight gain or loss, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, and sometimes suicidal tendencies : major depression, major depressive disorder

Cases of clinical depression present doctors with a nasty diagnostic challenge: The malady, which strikes about 10% of the population, comes in myriad forms, each requiring different treatments.

—Science