DEPRESSIVE Synonyms: 115 Similar and Opposite Words

depressive

adjective

di-ˈpre-siv

Definition of depressive

as in bleak

causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer the depressive story about a struggling artist

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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 depressive Regular attendees also tended to smoke less, experience fewer depressive symptoms and have stronger social support, the researchers reported in 2016. — Teresa Mull, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2026 Antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs such as Celexa, Prozac and Zoloft, target a range of depressive and anxiety disorders. — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026 Up to a certain point, social media use didn't pop as a big predictor for depressive feelings. — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026 Intrusive thoughts and depressive symptoms, for example, are not uncommon in the perinatal period and do not usually require hospitalization. — Renee Sorrentino, STAT, 28 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for depressive

Recent Examples of Synonyms for depressive

Adjective

Shane Beamer's future looks bleak after Gamecocks blew a 16-0 lead against Mississippi State and lost their sixth straight SEC game.

— ABC News, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026
In this rain and stiff wind, under a dark sky, from one bleak port to another.

— Paul Theroux, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of bleak

Adjective

The story follows Bobi, a 12-year-old boy born with literal dog’s paws, hidden away by his family until Carlos, a lonely, childless man, takes him in.

— Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026
From screenwriter Eric Champnella and set in 2008, Return to You follows a powerful but lonely female attorney (Lohan) who mistakenly receives a very emotional DVD sent by a dying woman to her husband (Golding).

— Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of lonely

Adjective

Many social media users suggested Pearman may have missed the point of the somber experience of visiting a living memorial where one of history’s greatest atrocities occurred.

— Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026
On Thursday, members of The Times editorial staff gathered to celebrate Swed, but the mood was somewhat somber.

— Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of somber

Adjective

For serious gear collectors tired of pocket clutter and dark backpack voids, this clever mobile workstation is a genuinely smart, highly functional evolution.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 29 Sep. 2026
Nothing hits quite like a pair of $39 Levi’s jeans, and this perfectly stretchy, dark-wash option is just what the doctor ordered.

— Annie Blackman, InStyle, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of dark

Adjective

With its fragile acoustic melodies, desolate lyrics, and spare, subtle studio accompaniment, Ride Lonesome is like Nick Drake’s mumble-folk masterpiece Bryter Layter as the work of a lovelorn Laurel Canyon soft-rock poet.

— Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 18 Sep. 2026
Making matters worse, those same neighborhoods are some of the city’s most desolate transit deserts.

— Al Sharpton, New York Daily News, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of desolate

Adjective

First, there’s Bertha Manchester (Linda Reiter), who, in a morbid bit of happenstance, was actually killed in a brutal axe murder just days before Lizzie’s trial.

— Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Sep. 2026
But Trumpism is also what Gramsci called a morbid symptom of the interregnum, an expression of a country riven by political polarization and by economic inequity, and struggling to come to terms with the waning of its singular status.

— Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of morbid

Adjective

Yom Kippur, which is coming on Monday, is the most solemn time on the Jewish calendar, is a day of introspection, self-examination, self-evaluation, and self-reflection.

— Marc Schneier, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026
The night, centered on the foundation’s ongoing push to fund a cure and support those stigmatized by their HIV status, didn’t end on that solemn note.

— Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of solemn

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“Depressive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depressive. Accessed 1 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of depressive

adjective

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