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
Lane is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
—
Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2025
Fawlty Towers established Scales' role as a TV darling; the actress starred as the wife of Basil Fawlty (played by John Cleese), a rude hotel manager who forever appeared to be on the brink of a nervous breakdown.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
Schmitt suffers a nervous breakdown after his arrogance (and Webber’s long leash on the residency program) leads to him killing a podcaster on the operating table and these two break up again.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2025
That character is Mike Tyler (Chris Evans), a Hollywood star recovering from a recent nervous breakdown and attending a garish eco-friendly charity party for the super-super-rich that’s being held in a fantastically austere Greek mine.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous breakdown
Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2025
Fawlty Towers established Scales' role as a TV darling; the actress starred as the wife of Basil Fawlty (played by John Cleese), a rude hotel manager who forever appeared to be on the brink of a nervous breakdown.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
Schmitt suffers a nervous breakdown after his arrogance (and Webber’s long leash on the residency program) leads to him killing a podcaster on the operating table and these two break up again.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2025
That character is Mike Tyler (Chris Evans), a Hollywood star recovering from a recent nervous breakdown and attending a garish eco-friendly charity party for the super-super-rich that’s being held in a fantastically austere Greek mine.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nervous breakdown
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nervous breakdown
breakdown
Noun
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But the victory didn’t come without the Clippers’ all-too-familiar third-quarter breakdown.—
Janis Carr,
Oc Register,
15 Jan. 2026
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Oily Foods Fatty and oily foods can speed up the breakdown of plastic.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
15 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nervous breakdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nervous%20breakdown. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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