depression

1 a period of decreased economic activity during the 1930s the U.S. suffered a great depression Synonyms recession, slump Related Words bust, crash, panic; stagnation; downbeat, downdraft, downswing, downtrend, downturn, slowdown Near Antonyms development, growth; advancement, progress; rally, recovery Antonyms boom

2 a state or spell of low spirits we threw our friend a party just to jar him out of his depression Synonyms blue devils, blues, dejection, sadness, desolation, despond, despondence, despondency, disconsolateness, dispiritedness, doldrums, dolefulness, downheartedness, dreariness, dumps, forlornness, gloom, gloominess, glumness, heartsickness, joylessness, melancholy, miserableness, mopes, mournfulness, oppression, sorrowfulness, unhappinessRelated Words melancholia, self-pity; anguish, dolor, grief, mourning, somberness, sorrow, woefulness; agony, distress, pain; misery, woe, wretchedness; discouragement, disheartenment; moodiness; despair, desperation, hopelessness, self-despair; boredom, ennui, tedium; dismalness, drear, morbidness, moroseness, morosity; regret, rueNear Antonyms gaiety (also gayety), gayness, glee, gleefulness, humor, jollity, joviality, lightheartedness, merriment, mirth, mirthfulness; cheer, cheerfulness, cheeriness, hopefulness, optimism, sunniness; content, contentedness, contentment, satisfaction; delight, gratificationAntonyms bliss, blissfulness, ecstasy, elatedness, elation, euphoria, exhilaration, exuberance, exultation, felicity, gladness, gladsomeness, happiness, heaven, intoxication, joy, joyfulness, joyousness, jubilation, rapture, rapturousness

3 a sunken area forming a separate space the water generally collects in the patchwork of depressions in the city plaza Synonyms cavity, concavity, dent, hole, dint, hollow, indentation, indenture, pit, recessRelated Words burrow, cave, cavern, ditch, excavation, furrow, groove, gutter, trench, trough; basin, bowl, valley; alcove, cleft, niche, nook, opening, recess, socket; alveolus, dimple, gouge, impression, imprint, notch, pocket; borehole, chuckhole, crater, posthole, pothole, sinkhole, wallow, water hole, well; abyss, chasm, gulf, vacuity, vacuum, voidNear Antonyms hill, mound, rise; bump, bunch, hump, lump, pimple, swell, swelling, tumorAntonyms bulge, camber, convexity, jut, projection, protrusion, protuberance

4 the amount by which something is lessened a depression in the number of new homes being built Synonyms abatement, decline, decrement, dent, depletion, decrease, diminishment, diminution, drop, drop-off, fall, falloff, loss, reduction, shrinkage, step-downRelated Words deduction, subtraction; downturn, slip, slump; curtailment, cut, cutback, retrenchment, shorteningNear Antonyms accretion, accrual, accumulation, addition, supplement; continuation, extension; upswing, uptrend, upturnAntonyms boost, enlargement, gain, increase, increment, raise, rise, step-up, uptick