Definition of "depression" []

• The act of depressing. (noun)
• The condition of being depressed. (noun)
• An area that is sunk below its surroundings; a hollow. (noun)
• The condition of feeling sad or despondent. (noun)
• Psychology A psychiatric disorder characterized by an inability to concentrate, insomnia, loss of appetite, anhedonia, feelings of extreme sadness, guilt, helplessness and hopelessness, and thoughts of death. Also called clinical depression. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In fact, the word depression has virtually replaced unhappiness in our internal vocabularies."
• "If she took on too much, if she became overly excited, she could tumble into a state of despair for which the term "depression" seems rather mild."
• "One cold shower and two cold beers later: stress, and its darker cousin depression, is a serious problem in Japan, I feel, but not one that is very well understood."