depressive

adjective

de·pres·sive | \ di-ˈpre-siv

, dē-\

Definition of depressive

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : tending to depress

2 : of, relating to, marked by, or affected by psychological depression depressive symptoms a depressive patient

depressive

noun

Definition of depressive (Entry 2 of 2)

: one who is affected with or prone to psychological depression

Other Words from depressive Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about depressive

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Examples of depressive in a Sentence

Adjective

the depressive air of a dingy barroom where locals went to drown their sorrows

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Does someone with depression remain a depressive if her symptoms are kept fully in check with medication and treatment? — Anna Altman, The New Yorker, "In “The Collected Schizophrenias,” Esmé Weijun Wang Maps the Terrain of Her Mental Illness," 4 June 2019 Fluoxetine, the generic form of Prozac, now comes in dozens of pet-friendly flavors, including peanut butter, apple and molasses, double grape, double liver, double beef, double fish, and — for the especially carnivorous depressive — triple fish. — David Scharfenberg, BostonGlobe.com, "Did humans drive this polar bear insane?," 13 July 2018 Johnson, a manic depressive with borderline personality disorder, spent decades addicted to drugs and alcohol, beginning with marijuana at age 8. — Marissa J. Lang, Washington Post, "‘I survived. I made it out’: She used to be addicted to crack cocaine. Now, she wants to help opioid abusers.," 10 May 2018 Of those 162 links, 39 were also associated with depressive problems. — Mckenzie Schwark, Teen Vogue, "Study Finds Links in Brain Between Sleep and Depression," 30 July 2018 Still living at home, and this show has given me the invigoration to keep moving and not fall into a depressive rut. — Leah Rodriguez, The Cut, "What 10 Reddit Men Learned From Watching the New Queer Eye," 9 Apr. 2018 By increasing the dose of this gene, the researchers were able to induce depression-like symptoms in mice; knocking the gene down reduced their ability to induce depressive behavior. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "New studies zero in on roots of depression and why ketamine reverses it," 17 Feb. 2018 Long ago, during the early '90s, Slowdive was the dreamiest of shoegaze acts—more ethereal than My Bloody Valentine, more depressive than Ride, better than Lush. — Zach Schonfeld, Newsweek, "The 17 Best Albums of 2017: Kendrick Lamar, Lorde and Other Favorites," 22 Dec. 2017 However, those shifts are primarily between depressive and manic episodes (having an abnormally elevated and energetic mood) or hypomanic episodes, which also involve unusually high energy and activity levels but to a lesser extent. — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, "13 Facts Everyone Should Know About Borderline Personality Disorder," 5 Dec. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Robin Weigert plays Verena Baptist, a charismatic leader in ivory cashmere, who reveals to Plum that her mother, the successful inventor of a famously restrictive diet course, was a depressive who knew her own plan was sadistic and unsustainable. — Rachel Syme, The New Republic, "On AMC, ‘Dietland’ serves up a revenge fantasy for the era of MeToo.," 12 June 2018 And the same factors that turned many smug Democrats into depressives in November have elated many Republicans. — Daniel Gross, Slate Magazine, "Why Are Businesses Still So Giddy About Donald Trump?," 31 Mar. 2017 For the cool depressives, the irony of the vibrant, cheerful colors juxtaposed with a bored stare works best. — Fiona Wallice, Harper's BAZAAR, "Fashion Therapy," 15 Feb. 2011 Let’s get rid of Infirmary Feminism, with its bedlam of bellyachers, anorexics, bulimics, depressives, rape victims and incest survivors. — Dwight Garner, New York Times, "From Camille Paglia, ‘Free Women, Free Men’ and No Sacred Cows," 23 Mar. 2017

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