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
The Harvard Mental Health LetterPsychiatrists 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
Natalie AngierExamples of major depression in a Sentence
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Other preliminary research suggests keto diets could have some effect in people with major depression.
—Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 6 Feb. 2026
My wife suffers from major depression.
—Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 31 Jan. 2026
Another kind of biological marker in the near future may be certain markers of inflammation for people with major depression.
—Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, 28 Jan. 2026
Nord and her colleagues have found that people with a range of psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder, anxiety, major depression, anorexia and schizophrenia, share unusual activity in a brain region known as the mid-insula, which is essential to interpreting signals from the body.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Dec. 2025
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Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 6 Feb. 2026
My wife suffers from major depression.
—Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 31 Jan. 2026
Another kind of biological marker in the near future may be certain markers of inflammation for people with major depression.
—Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, 28 Jan. 2026
Nord and her colleagues have found that people with a range of psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder, anxiety, major depression, anorexia and schizophrenia, share unusual activity in a brain region known as the mid-insula, which is essential to interpreting signals from the body.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for major depression
Cite this Entry
“Major depression.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/major%20depression. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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