depression

noun

di-ˈpre-shən How to pronounce depression (audio)
Definition of depressionnext
1
as in recession
a period of decreased economic activity during the 1930s the U.S. suffered a great depression

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2
as in sadness
a state or spell of low spirits she called her friend to see if a sympathetic ear would relieve his depression

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3
as in hole
a sunken area forming a separate space the water generally collects in the patchwork of depressions in the city plaza

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4
as in decrease
the amount by which something is lessened a depression in the number of new homes being built

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of depression Columbia University researchers found in a 2005 study that children from upper-class families can exhibit elevated likelihoods of substance use, anxiety, and depression in part thanks to excessive pressures to achieve and isolation from parents. — Preston Fore, Fortune, 13 Aug. 2026 Still in the developing stages are a pair of tropical waves in the central and eastern tropical Atlantic, both now forecast to form into at least a tropical depression. — Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026 The doctors often dismissed her symptoms as anxiety or depression, Newman, 57, said. — Erika Edwards, NBC news, 13 Aug. 2026 The jury specifically found Meta and YouTube's apps -- specifically design features like auto scrolling, recommendation algorithms and notifications -- led the woman, then a teenager, to develop anxiety and depression. — ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for depression
Recent Examples of Synonyms for depression
  1. recession
  2. sadness
  3. hole
  4. decrease
  5. slump
  6. melancholy
  7. pit
  8. reduction
Noun
  • Wars, tariffs and years of uncertainty haven’t knocked a $31 trillion economy into a recession.
    — Rachel Siegel, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
  • So far this year, employers are adding 61,000 jobs a month, up from 9,700 in 2025, the weakest outside a recession since 2002.
    — Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of recession
Noun
  • The researchers also detected differences in the brain activity associated with faces showing fear versus anger or sadness.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Gastélum’s last posts on Instagram and TikTok have thousands of comments ranging from sadness to disbelief.
    — Rey Rodríguez, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of sadness
Noun
  • Instead of slicing and dicing the zucchini, grate it on the large holes of a box grater or the grater attachment of a food processor.
    — Kate Williams, AJC.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Naughton said as students arrived for the meetup at the school’s blacktop, the district began filling in a hole on the blacktop from a tree that had been removed earlier in the summer.
    — Molly Gibbs, Mercury News, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of hole
Noun
  • Most towns saw a decrease in Democratic turnout compared to 2018, but towns with competitive Congressional or state Democratic primaries were more likely to see an increase.
    — Angela Eichhorst, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Despite police data that shows a sustained decrease in CTA crime, the agency continues to take heat on safety.
    — Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of decrease
Noun
  • Bumble and competitor Tinder, owned by Match Group, have reported consecutive declining rates of paying users, revenue and stock slumps in recent years.
    — Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Short sellers betting against SpaceX are rapidly retreating from the trade, just as the newly public stock rebounds from its post-IPO slump.
    — Yun Li, CNBC, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of slump
Noun
  • Beneath all the sensuality and beauty, there’s also a lingering melancholy that feels very familiar to me.
    — Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 16 June 2026
  • Don Hertzfeldt occasionally comes to mind for a similarly pervasive mood of questioning, philosophical melancholy.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 12 June 2026
Definition of melancholy
Noun
  • As Rhaenyra slowly descends into a pit of despair and desperation, Daemon and his armies run into some snags on their assault of Tumbleton thanks to the various tricks Lord Ormund has up his sleeves.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder and former chief scientist of OpenAI, once gathered his colleagues around a fire pit at a company offsite.
    — Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of pit
Noun
  • In late April, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration banned the use of federal grants for distributing strips to the public and for some other harm reduction practices that have been credited with saving lives.
    — Scott Maucione, NPR, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Gamers lament that this is benefitting the companies while offering nothing to consumers with no price reductions in the cost of games, despite the supply-side savings.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of reduction

Browse Nearby Words

depressing
depression
depressions
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Cite this Entry

“Depression.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depression. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on depression

Nglish: Translation of depression for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about depression

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