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

Weeks after he as admitted to George Washington University Hospital, Fetterman checked himself in to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for clinical depression. —Greta Bjornson, PEOPLE, 13 Nov. 2025

In February 2023, Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment for clinical depression, a condition his staff said had grown more severe in the months following his stroke and Senate swearing-in. —Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Nov. 2025

Studies in adults with clinical depression found that curcumin significantly improved symptoms. —Lindsay Curtis, Health, 4 Sep. 2025

Instead, users who rely on ChatGPT, for example, for tips on handling their clinical depression are relying on the tool for a function that’s beyond its stated purpose. —Kameryn Griesser, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for clinical depression

• immunosuppression
• myelosuppression
• accession
• aggression
• compression
• concession
• confession
• digression
• discretion
• expression
• impression
• obsession

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