nervous breakdown
noun
: an attack of mental or emotional disorder especially when of sufficient severity to require hospitalization
Examples of nervous breakdown in a Sentence
She had a nervous breakdown shortly after her sister's death.
He is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Recent Examples on the Web
Photo: Logan White Rose Byrne is a frightening revelation in this spiraling, hyper-anxious-making story of a mother going through a nervous breakdown.
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Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 3 Feb. 2025
That ethical dodge — congratulating modern progress, ignoring this era’s nervous breakdown — is the basic, political, insensitive reason that contemporary Hollywood cannot create love stories.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 Apr. 2025
The tale of a narcissistic corporate executive (Dern) whose nervous breakdown yields a convenient spiritual awakening, the show positions its protagonist in the morally fraught role of a whistle-blower doing the right thing for selfish reasons.
—Charlie Campbell, TIME, 24 Jan. 2025
The finale, a musical nervous breakdown, illuminates what’s been driving the character all along.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous breakdown
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Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 3 Feb. 2025
That ethical dodge — congratulating modern progress, ignoring this era’s nervous breakdown — is the basic, political, insensitive reason that contemporary Hollywood cannot create love stories.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 Apr. 2025
The tale of a narcissistic corporate executive (Dern) whose nervous breakdown yields a convenient spiritual awakening, the show positions its protagonist in the morally fraught role of a whistle-blower doing the right thing for selfish reasons.
—Charlie Campbell, TIME, 24 Jan. 2025
The finale, a musical nervous breakdown, illuminates what’s been driving the character all along.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous breakdown
Cite this Entry
“Nervous breakdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nervous%20breakdown. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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