as in breakdown
a mental or nervous collapse
you're going to have a nervous breakdown if you keep up that pace
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Recent Examples of nervous breakdown
Then there was Spark’s nervous breakdown in January 1954.
—
Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2025
Or perhaps Christie had a bout of amnesia or a nervous breakdown and traveled confusedly around England, as many of her biographers and her own doctors have suggested.
—Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 24 July 2025
Maybe Pippa has a nervous breakdown and checks herself into a high-end spa/sanatorium in western Massachusetts.
—John Kenney, New Yorker, 21 July 2025
Her father, Edwin, was a lawyer with a dangerous relationship with booze, and her mother, also named Amelia but called Amy, was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
—Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous breakdown
Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2025
Or perhaps Christie had a bout of amnesia or a nervous breakdown and traveled confusedly around England, as many of her biographers and her own doctors have suggested.
—Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 24 July 2025
Maybe Pippa has a nervous breakdown and checks herself into a high-end spa/sanatorium in western Massachusetts.
—John Kenney, New Yorker, 21 July 2025
Her father, Edwin, was a lawyer with a dangerous relationship with booze, and her mother, also named Amelia but called Amy, was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
—Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous breakdown
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nervous breakdown
breakdown
Noun
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The company has attributed much of its spending to efforts to expand its Angel Guild membership base, though detailed breakdowns of marketing costs are not publicly available.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Sep. 2025
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To read the full breakdown and in-depth reporting by education reporter Rachel Wegner, follow the link here.—
Rosalind Bowling,
Nashville Tennessean,
24 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nervous breakdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nervous%20breakdown. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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