depressed

adjective

de·​pressed di-ˈprest 

dē-

1

: low in spirits : sad

especially : affected by psychological depression

2

a

: vertically flattened

a depressed cactus

b

: having the central part lower than the margin

c

: lying flat or prostrate

d

: dorsoventrally flattened

3

: suffering from economic depression

especially : underprivileged

living in a depressed area

4

: being below the standard

Prices remain at a depressed level.

Synonyms of depressed

• concave
• hollow
• sunken

Examples of depressed in a Sentence

The rainy weather had her feeling lonely and depressed.

He was depressed about having to return to school.

The new drug is being tested on a group of severely depressed patients.

living in a depressed area

The patient has a somewhat depressed appetite.

Prices have remained at a depressed level.

Recent Examples on the Web

The pseudonymous title character, a depressed, drunken, belligerent twenty-six-year-old advice columnist, has no real hardships of his own and is cursed by doubt. — Hannah Jocelyn, New Yorker, 1 July 2026

Supergirl is a story about a depressed, super-powered woman who is pulled out of her bar-hopping to help other people and find her purpose. — Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 30 June 2026

In that moment, those two characters are clinically depressed, really, and unable to share in it together because there’s always other people around. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 30 June 2026

Black Detroiters living in an economically depressed 1980s Detroit imagined a sonic future that was inclusive and equitable. — Carla Vecchiola, The Conversation, 26 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing depressed

• clinically depressed

Rhymes for depressed

• acquiesced
• coalesced
• dispossessed
• manifest
• overdressed
• overstressed
• prepossessed
• reassessed
• reinvest
• repossessed
• unaddressed
• uncompressed

Kids Definition

depressed

adjective

de·​pressed

1

a

: low in spirits : sad

b

: suffering from mental depression

2

: suffering from economic depression

Medical Definition

depressed

adjective

de·​pressed di-ˈprest 

1

: low in spirits

specifically : affected by psychological depression

a severely depressed patient

2

a

: having the central part lower than the margin

a depressed pustule

b

: dorsoventrally flattened

the tapeworm is a depressed animal

—R. A. Wardle & J. A. McLeod