major depression

noun

: a serious mood disorder involving one or more episodes of intense psychological depression or loss of interest or pleasure that lasts two or more weeks and is accompanied by irritability, fatigue, poor concentration, sleep disturbances, weight gain or loss, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, and sometimes suicidal tendencies : clinical depression, major depressive disorder

Episodes of major depression usually last several months and may recur throughout a lifetime.

—The Harvard Mental Health Letter

Psychiatrists have found that among distinguished artists, the rates of manic depression and major depression are 10 to 30 times as prevalent as in the population at large.

—Natalie Angier

Examples of major depression in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While the therapeutic use of psychedelics has long happened underground, clinical research into psilocybin’s potential to treat ailments like major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder has fueled greater acceptance of it in the mainstream. —Tiney Ricciardi, The Denver Post, 21 Jan. 2025

Studies show that one in three dementia caregivers experiences major depression symptoms. —Cathy Habas, SELF, 17 Jan. 2025

Wisconsin has also made huge strides in providing mental health services to children with major depression. —Natalie Eilbert, Journal Sentinel, 30 July 2024

China will likely recover from its current economic setbacks just as the United States recuperated after wild stock market swings and a major depression in the first half of the twentieth century. —Pankaj Ghemawat, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2016

Word History

First Known Use

1977, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

major depression

noun

: a serious mood disorder involving one or more episodes of intense psychological depression or loss of interest or pleasure that lasts two or more weeks and is accompanied by irritability, fatigue, poor concentration, sleep disturbances, weight gain or loss, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, and sometimes suicidal tendencies : clinical depression, major depressive disorder