de·pres·sive
di-ˈpre-siv 
dē-
1
: tending to depress
2
: of, relating to, marked by, or affected by psychological depression
depressive symptoms
a depressive patient
depressively
adverb
: one who is affected with or prone to psychological depression
Synonyms
Adjective
- black
- bleak
- cheerless
- chill
- Cimmerian
- cloudy
- cold
- comfortless
- dark
- darkening
- depressing
- desolate
- dire
- disconsolate
- dismal
- drear
- dreary
- dreich [chiefly Scottish]
- elegiac
- elegiacal
- forlorn
- funereal
- gloomy
- glum
- godforsaken
- gray
- grey
- lonely
- lonesome
- lugubrious
- miserable
- morbid
- morose
- murky
- plutonian
- saturnine
- sepulchral
- solemn
- somber
- sombre
- sullen
- sunless
- tenebrific
- tenebrous
- wretched
Examples of depressive in a Sentence
Adjective
the depressive story about a struggling artist
Recent Examples on the Web
Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 18 Apr. 2024
Hormones regulate a person’s mind and body, and going cold turkey could send patients into depressive spirals or worse.
—Casey Parks, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2024
This pattern was also linked with reporting the poorest health and depressive symptoms at age 50.
—Kristen Rogers, CNN, 3 Apr. 2024
Researchers believe that kleptomania may be a maladaptive response to a depressive mood state and the feelings of guilt and shame that follow instances of compulsive stealing can intensify these feelings of depression.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
Bipolar disorder is a lifelong illness, so manic and depressive episodes come and go over time.
—Katie Camero, USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2024
TBIs are associated with several conditions beyond PTSD, including the major depressive disorder and suicidal ideation reported by some study participants.
—Ella Weaver, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
Also, a recent study found that dancing 150 minutes weekly can reduce stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety.
—Dominique Fluker, Essence, 2 Apr. 2024
Major depressive episodes have roughly doubled for teenagers since 2010, according to Mr. Haidt’s research.
—Emma Goldberg, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2024
Laura Newberry, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2023
The statistical relationship between impact factors and mental health data, analyzed from North America and other regions, could then be used to extrapolate the missing estimates for depressive and anxiety disorders for the many countries that lacked that data.
—Gary Stix, Scientific American, 8 Oct. 2021
Guston was a depressive and a heavy drinker and smoker who was haunted by two events: his father’s suicide by hanging — most accounts say a 10-year-old Guston found the body — and his brother’s death after developing gangrene because his legs were crushed by a car.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2023
Hayes is terrific as the depressive and self-deprecating pianist, composer, and noted wit Oscar Levant.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 25 Apr. 2023
Some of this rather strongly recalls the depressive absurdism and cracked ambition of Charlie Kaufman, another filmmaker unshy about mining his own dysfunction for deranged laughs.
—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 20 Apr. 2023
Gerald is a depressive.
—Rachel Desantis, PEOPLE.com, 24 Nov. 2021
This nightmarish scenario is a dream for Sheila (an excellently unnerving Kaley Cuoco), a neurotic depressive searching for purpose and a second chance.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Sep. 2022
Ray is a ruminative depressive who was institutionalized in 1979.
—Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2022
Adjective
Antipsychotics treat manic, mixed, and depressive episodes but also reduce psychotic symptoms.
—Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 18 Apr. 2024
Hormones regulate a person’s mind and body, and going cold turkey could send patients into depressive spirals or worse.
—Casey Parks, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2024
This pattern was also linked with reporting the poorest health and depressive symptoms at age 50.
—Kristen Rogers, CNN, 3 Apr. 2024
Researchers believe that kleptomania may be a maladaptive response to a depressive mood state and the feelings of guilt and shame that follow instances of compulsive stealing can intensify these feelings of depression.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
Bipolar disorder is a lifelong illness, so manic and depressive episodes come and go over time.
—Katie Camero, USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2024
TBIs are associated with several conditions beyond PTSD, including the major depressive disorder and suicidal ideation reported by some study participants.
—Ella Weaver, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
Also, a recent study found that dancing 150 minutes weekly can reduce stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety.
—Dominique Fluker, Essence, 2 Apr. 2024
Major depressive episodes have roughly doubled for teenagers since 2010, according to Mr. Haidt’s research.
—Emma Goldberg, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2024
Noun
People living with bipolar cycle through manic or hypomanic (too much energy) and depressive (little to no energy) mood states, McInnis told me.
—Laura Newberry, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2023
The statistical relationship between impact factors and mental health data, analyzed from North America and other regions, could then be used to extrapolate the missing estimates for depressive and anxiety disorders for the many countries that lacked that data.
—Gary Stix, Scientific American, 8 Oct. 2021
Guston was a depressive and a heavy drinker and smoker who was haunted by two events: his father’s suicide by hanging — most accounts say a 10-year-old Guston found the body — and his brother’s death after developing gangrene because his legs were crushed by a car.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2023
Hayes is terrific as the depressive and self-deprecating pianist, composer, and noted wit Oscar Levant.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 25 Apr. 2023
Some of this rather strongly recalls the depressive absurdism and cracked ambition of Charlie Kaufman, another filmmaker unshy about mining his own dysfunction for deranged laughs.
—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 20 Apr. 2023
Gerald is a depressive.
—Rachel Desantis, PEOPLE.com, 24 Nov. 2021
This nightmarish scenario is a dream for Sheila (an excellently unnerving Kaley Cuoco), a neurotic depressive searching for purpose and a second chance.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Sep. 2022
Ray is a ruminative depressive who was institutionalized in 1979.
—Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'depressive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near depressive
Cite this Entry
“Depressive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/depressive. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
depressive
1 of 2 adjective
de·pres·sive
di-ˈpres-iv
1
: tending to depress
2
: of, relating to, marked by, or affected by psychological depression
the patient was paranoid and depressive
depressive symptoms
depressive
2 of 2 noun
: one who is affected with or prone to psychological depression
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