mental illness

noun

variants or mental disorder or less commonly mental disease

: any of a broad range of medical conditions (such as major depression, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, or panic disorder) that are marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, or emotions to impair normal psychological functioning and cause marked distress or disability and that are typically associated with a disruption in normal thinking, feeling, mood, behavior, interpersonal interactions, or daily functioning

mentally ill adjective

Examples of mental illness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Judd also said Espinoza had no history of mental illness. —Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024

The lawsuit is one of several class-action proceedings that have led the courts to assume oversight of the prison system’s treatment of those who are sick or suffer from mental illnesses. —Don Thompson, Sacramento Bee, 9 Apr. 2024

And the number of detainees with psychiatric needs has risen: About one in five people held on Rikers has some form of serious mental illness. —Ainara Tiefenthäler, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2024

The most common mental illness in the world, statistics suggest that 60 percent of us experience at least mild symptoms of anxiety. —Hannah Coates, Vogue, 6 Apr. 2024

Essiedu says that The Effect’s current, all-Black cast allows for nuanced discussions around mental illness within the Black community. —Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 30 Mar. 2024

This includes people suffering from mental illness, who may not be able to maintain a schedule of a daily dose like the birth control pill. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2024

Physicians are warning against a growing wave of misinformation spread by right-wing pundits and social media influencers who claim hormonal birth control is causing negative health effects like infertility, weight gain, and mental illness. —Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2024

Jurors disagreed but found that Miller was suffering from mental illness at the time. —Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 21 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1724, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

mental illness

noun

variants or mental disorder also mental disease

: any of a broad range of medical conditions (such as major depression, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, or panic disorder) that are marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, or emotions to impair normal psychological functioning and cause marked distress or disability and that are typically associated with a disruption in normal thinking, feeling, mood, behavior, interpersonal interactions, or daily functioning

Some homeless families are also hindered by substance abuse and mental illness.

—Ellen L. Bassuk, Scientific American

Catatonia is usually an expression of mental disorders like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, but it could also come from other medical problems, such as a brain tumor.

—Forrest Wickman, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

… mental diseases such as schizophrenia and manic depression may either involve more than one gene or may result from a complex mix of genetic predisposition and environmental rotten luck.

—Natalie Angier, The New York Times Book Review

mentally ill adjective

mentally ill patients

Mental health workers … perform a wide variety of therapeutic, supportive, and preventative functions for persons who are mentally ill and developmentally disabled.

—Barbara M. Swanson, Careers in Health Care

Legal Definition

mental illness

noun

mental ill·​ness

1

: mental disease

2

: a mental condition marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, and emotions to seriously impair the normal psychological and often social functioning of the individual

called also mental disorder